In the late 1980s, Nissan developed a mid-engine four-wheel-drive supercar with a twin-turbocharged V6, the Mid4. It was slated for production, and might have set the world of sports cars on fire, beating Acura’s NSX to market and absolutely dominating in the face of the fastest Italians of the day. Sadly the Mid4 was pushed to a footnote of NISMO history when the project was shelved due to the Japanese financial collapse.
Thankfully for Nissan enthusiasts, the project wasn’t a complete bust, as the company used AWD parts developed for the Mid4 project in the 1989 launch of the R32 generation Skyline GT-R, which obviously thrust Nissan to the forefront of international performance standards.
While the world did get something good out of the shelved Mid4 project, I can’t help but be a little bit sad that the royal we never got to experience R32 GT-R level performance in a mid-engine package. This thing must have been an absolute rocketship.
Shame, that. Either way, you can learn a little more about it by watching Sam Collins show you around the car as it sits in Nissan’s collection. It’s short and sweet, maybe a little too short, if I’m honest.