NISSAN

MID4 Concept: the best of automotive engineering that the brand could offer

Permanent four-wheel drive with viscous central clutch. 5-speed manual transmission. A body with a lot of fiberglass. In addition, it also lacked four-wheel steering and four disc brakes with ABS.

In terms of dimensions, it measured 4.16 meters long, 1.78 meters wide and 1.20 meters high, with a wheelbase of 2.44 meters. His weight was 1,400 kilograms. It reached a top speed of 295 km/h and accelerated from 0 to 100 km/h in 4.9 seconds. Speaking of which between 1985 and 1987, it seems that it is a Porsche or a Ferrari, but no, that was the Nissan MID4.

This prototype sports car was first presented at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September 1985. A model intended to show the world what Nissan could achieve with its own technologies.

The first example (since at least two were made) was a pearly white model with a left-hand drive, which you can see in the photos, while the second car produced was red.

But that wasn't the most impressive thing. The car had a total traction system that distributed 33% of the power transmitted to the front axle and 67% to the rear axle, in order to achieve good balance and remarkable behavior at high speeds.

This prototype sports car was first presented at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September 1985. A model intended to show the world what Nissan could achieve with its own technologies.

The first example (since at least two were made) was a pearly white model with a left-hand drive, which you can see in the photos, while the second car produced was red.

This system was the first development of what would later become the well-known ATESSA, Nissan's all-wheel drive system, later adopted for production models such as the Skyline, Bluebird, Cefiro and several others.

We are talking about a sports car that used the 3.0-liter V6 engine (VG30) from the Z31 - Fairlady Z/300ZX, mounted in a central position. A mechanic that had four valve trains, 24 valves and a power of 230 hp at 6,000 rpm.

The first MID4 also featured the first evolution of HICAS four-wheel steering, designed to provide better control, taking into account lateral acceleration and cornering speed. This system, after being revised, was adopted in the Z-series and in Nissan's mid- and high-end coupe and sedan models.

Finally, the car had four disc brakes with ABS and the bodywork was designed to be aerodynamically efficient. The influence of the MID-4 styling was also felt in the facelift of the 300ZX (Z31) in October 1985. The second MID4 (red), with a right-hand drive, was shown at the Tokyo Motor Show that same month.

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