The MID4 was an experimental

sports car A sports car is a car designed with an emphasis on dynamic performance, such as handling, acceleration, top speed, the thrill of driving and racing capability. Sports cars originated in Europe in the early 1900s and are currently produced by ...

produced by

Nissan , trade name, trading as Nissan Motor Corporation and often shortened to Nissan, is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automobile manufacturer headquartered in Nishi-ku, Yokohama, Japan. The company sells ...

History

First unveiled at the 1985 International Motor Show Germany, the MID4 was a concept car designed by

to originally go on sale in the mid-late 1980s.

had aimed the MID4 to compete with European supercars from

Porsche Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG, usually shortened to Porsche (; see #Pronunciation, below), is a German automobile manufacturer specializing in high-performance sports cars, SUVs and sedans, headquartered in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, Germany ...

and

Ferrari Ferrari S.p.A. (; ) is an Italian luxury sports car manufacturer based in Maranello, Italy. Founded by Enzo Ferrari (1898–1988) in 1939 from the Alfa Romeo racing division as ''Auto Avio Costruzioni'', the company built its first car in ...

. It featured a mid-engine, all-wheel-drive layout as well as a wide array of technology and features that would eventually find their way into other Nissan production cars. The MID4 would evolve into the MID4 II, though it would never be put into production.

Early Development

The responsibility of creating the MID4 was given to a team of designers headed by Shinichiro Sakurai in the spring of 1984. The first four prototypes were completed by March 1985.

MID4

The MID4 was first unveiled at the 1985 Frankfurt Autoshow. The design was inspired by the contemporary mid-engine European sports cars of the time such as the Lotus Esprit and the Ferrari Testarossa. Its all wheel drive system distributed the power from the newly designed VG30DE engine with 33% to the front and 67% to the rear, and was the predecessor to the ATTESA system. The naturally aspirated V6 engine was rated at . The MID4 was also the first car to feature Nissan's brand new

HICAS HICAS ''/hīkas/'' (High Capacity Actively Controlled Steering) is Nissan's rear wheel steering system found on cars ranging from the more recent Skyline and Fairlady Z (300ZX) iterations to smaller models like the Nissan Cefiro (A31), 240SX/ Silvi ...

four-wheel steering system and had a claimed top speed of . A multi-link rear suspension and the double wishbone front suspension were added for better handling. The ATESSA and the HICAS systems would eventually make their way to the

Nissan Skyline GT-R The is a sports car based on the Nissan Skyline range. The first cars named "Skyline GT-R" were produced between 1969 and 1972 under the model code KPGC10, and were successful in Japanese touring car racing events. This model was followed by ...

in 1987.

Nissan MID4 rear-right 2015 Motorsport Japan

MID4-II

The MID4-II made its debut at the 1987 Tokyo Motor Show and featured many revisions to the previous design. The most significant change apart from the design of MID4-II was the twin turbo intercooled VG30DETT which was rated at and of torque. The MID4-II was ultimately never produced due to cost. The engine would later make its way in the Nissan 300ZX which debuted in 1989. Nissan MID4 II rear

References

External links