1987: Lower price Z
The on again, off again saga of the attractive Nissan Mid-4 continued. After causing such a stir at the Frankfurt show in the mid 80s, plans o produce the 4-wheel-drive 4-wheel-steer mid engined sports car appeared to be quietly dismissed. Then came whispers in the fall of 1987 that Nissan’s dream car might turn to reality after all, but with a fresh set of clothes from the renowned Italian carrozzeria, Zagato. It was believed that production of the car would be funded by Autech Japan, a subsidiary of Nissan formed to develop limited production passenger cars and specially equipped commercial vehicles. This artist’s impression of the sports car, based on sightings of prepoduction prototypes, reportedly front engined, with a long, sloping hood, narrow grille, pop up headlights, and a glass hatchback reminiscent of the Mazda RX-7, was expected in late 1988. I would suggest this mystery car could be the low cost offspring of the ambitious Mid4, but more likely the successor to the 300ZX.
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That looks like a Diamond Star to me…
I remember seeing this in a car mag way back when it was first published. Of course the Nissan Mid4 was never built and the revised 300Z looked very different. The car described and pictured here is almost certainly what ended up becoming the Diamond Star trio. I owned a 1991 Talon TSi AWD. A close friend who had the means ended up with a new twin turbo Z.
Surely this is the Mitsubishi Eclipse, 1st version?