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In the 1980s Japan was riding the crest of a wave.
Its strong economic growth and electronics leadership led to tremendous confidence, which was nowhere more apparent than in the vehicles it was creating.
Standalone luxury brands Eunos, Infiniti and Lexus sprang up from Mazda, Nissan and Toyota respectively, while in the performance sector Japan’s first supercars arrived in the form of the Honda NSX and Nissan Skyline GT-R. The likes of Subaru, Mazda and Mitsubishi were also making a name for themselves in rallying by embracing all-wheel drive and turbocharging.
Heady stuff for the era, but the 3000GT went even further with adaptive dampers, all-wheel steering and active aerodynamics, which could alter the angle of the rear wing by 15 degrees and lower the front airdam 80mm at speed to increase downforce.
Overseas markets had the choice of an atmo version of the 3.0-litre V6, however, Australia only gained access to the range-topping twin-turbo monster, which produced a hefty 210kW/407Nm, 4kW/52Nm more than an R32 GT-R.
Unfortunately, all that technology came at a price – in fact, it came at two. The first was a kerb weight of 1720kg (at a time when an M5 weighed 1670kg), which not even that clever suspension could adequately control.
The second problem was the price. Nissan got away with the GT-R’s $110K ask due to its racetrack success, but at almost $90,000 (soon to rise to more than $117,000) the GTO failed to seduce many Aussie customers.
THE SPECS
Engine: 2972cc V6, DOHC, 24v, twin-turbo Power: 210kW @ 6000rpm Torque: 407Nm @ 3000rpm Transmission: 5- or 6-speed manual, 4-speed auto Weight: 1720kg 0-100km/h: 5.9sec (tested) Price new: $89,950-$118,940
Three 3000GT gems
1. Costume Change
2. Weight problem
3. Nip ’n’ Tuck
