1990 Nissan Pulsar GTi-R: Fast Car History Lesson

The Nissan Pulsar GTi-R represented a time when rally cars would have been proud of their road versions.

Born in 1990 at the height of Group A regulations that required the racecars to share core engineering with road cars, Nissan pinned its hopes of WRC glory on the N14 Pulsar.

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Its creators gave it a turbocharged engine and Nissan’s ATTESA all-wheel drive system to fight off Ford Sierra Cosworths and Lancia Delta Integrales, its 2.0-litre SR20DET engine shared with the Silvia and 180SX, but rotated 90 degrees to drive all four wheels.

Not to be confused with the R32 Skyline GT-R’s ATTESA E-TS oily bits that electronically controlled a multi-plate centre clutch, the GTi-R split grunt front to rear through a viscous centre limited-slip diff. But it was effective.

Its Garrett turbocharger helped it produce 162kW and 280Nm, channelled through a five-speed manual gearbox that allowed the GTi-R to hit 232km/h in top gear. Japanese outlet Best Motoring ran a stock 0-400m in 13.55 seconds.

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All this was, of course, crammed into a matchbox-sized body (its wheelbase was only 2430mm) that sat on strut front and parallel four-link rear suspension. It seemed like a great rally recipe, but limited success prompted Nissan to pull the plug on its World Rally Championship campaign after just two seasons. Boo.

Nissan continued to build the GTi-R until 1994 and even sold a version in Europe with a Sunny badge. It also offered a ready-to-race version that was delivered with steel wheels, no air-con or ABS, and offered a front LSD and close-ratio gearbox as options. Sadly, none made their way to Australian shores, officially anyway. Some came in private import form, with their desirability proven by their rarity.

Of all GTi-Rs, the ‘rally car for the road’ Nismo variant stands as the unicorn. Only 21 were built and one lives in Nismo boss Takao Katagiri’s garage.

1990 NISSAN PULSAR GTi-R SPECS
Engine: 1998cc inline-4, 16v, turbo
Power: 163kW @ 6400rpm
Torque: 280Nm @ 4800rpm
0-100km/h: 5.4sec (est.)
Price: $25,000 (current value estimate)