Long Lost Hot Hatches - Nissan Pulsar VZR N1

"ATaylor-Jones" (alanjtaylor)
03/30/2014 at 16:32 • Filed to: LLHH

123.4 bhp per litre from a naturally aspirated engine in 1997. That's one hundred and twenty three point four brake horsepower per litre, the highest output per litre of a naturally aspirated engine until the Honda S2000 came along in 1999. A figure not produced by a screaming Maranello V12 or Zuffenhausen flat 6 but a 1.6 litre 4 cylinder hatchback from Nissan, the Pulsar VZR N1.

The Pulsar line (also known by Sentra, Sunny & Almera amongst others) stretches back to 1978, spawning a number of race and rally variants. The 90's rally-bred GTI-R is probably the most famous thanks to its turbocharged 2.0 litre engine, 4WD and works entry into the WRC in both Group A & Group N. The VZR N1's SR16VE is in the same family of engines as the GTI-R's SR20DET but produces its 197bhp very differently.

Instead of a turbo to help things along, it relied on variable valve timing under Nissan's NEO-VVL nametag, some cylinder head work, 8 fuel injectors, a bigger throttle body and a lofty 8600rpm rev limit. Cylinder bore was shared with the more common SR20 but a shorter stroke brought it down to 1.6 litres giving Nissan a direct competitor to the EK9 Civic Type-R on both the road and track. Drive was to the front wheels only through a 5 speed manual gearbox.

Weight was just 1090kg (2403Ibs), less than the current Mazda MX-5. It was this lack of mass and the engine that allowed the N1 to reach 60 in around 6.5 seconds, a figure that's virtually identical to the current Ford Fiesta ST. Not bad when you consider the Ford has considerably more torque thanks to forced induction. Overall, around 500 VZR N1s were made over a couple of production runs, 10 times fewer than the GTI-R. This makes them an incredibly rare sight in their native Japan, the only place they were sold new, let alone the rest of the world.

Compared to the Type-R, the gearing wasn't as close, it didn't come with a limited slip diff (strange when the similar if less focussed Sentra SE-R did) or independent rear suspension. The VZR N1 was very much a race engine in a road car while the Type R was the full package. You know when Honda decided to seam weld for rigidity, they were pretty serious at going quickly around a track. This was proven when contemporary road tests saw the Type-R lap a short 'gymkhana' (please don't sue me Ken) course a second faster than the N1. In isolation, the N1 was very rapid, handled well and was practical however at around $5000 more expensive than the Civic. Good thing they didn't need to sell many to homologate the car really.

From AJTaylor's blog !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! .

DISCUSSION (17)

jkm7680 > ATaylor-Jones
03/30/2014 at 16:33

I'd hoon the Shit out of one. Rally it also.

hethoughtofcars > ATaylor-Jones
03/30/2014 at 16:37

Honda S2000 came along in 1999.

I thought the S2000 only made 120 hp/litre. 2.0L engine, 240 hp.

ATaylor-Jones > hethoughtofcars
03/30/2014 at 16:41

The JDM version came with 247 hp.

hethoughtofcars > ATaylor-Jones
03/30/2014 at 16:51

They cheated us out of 7 hp! Stupid Honda.

Rory > ATaylor-Jones
03/30/2014 at 17:07

Kinja'd!!!

I have actually seen this very car driving around Dublin and at a few festivals, It is immaculate

ATaylor-Jones > hethoughtofcars
03/30/2014 at 17:14

Sadly yes, different emissions regulations meant the JDM engine had a higher compression ratio.

ATaylor-Jones > Rory
03/30/2014 at 17:15

To be fair, I think it was the nicest looking I saw online, not that there are many to choose from!

IDriveASaabAndNobodyIsToBlame > jkm7680
04/03/2014 at 02:45

As would I, too. I dont know what it is about these japanese hot hatches (Gianza Turbo, this one, Mazda 323 Turbo, etc...) that tickles my "areas", but good god I like 'em so much. Euro versions, Golfs, Polos and such, couldn't give a $it.

Maybe Gran Turismo has something to do with it..

Wirenfeldt_Jr > IDriveASaabAndNobodyIsToBlame
04/03/2014 at 06:41

are you talking about the Starlet Glanza or have i missed something?

IDriveASaabAndNobodyIsToBlame > Wirenfeldt_Jr
04/04/2014 at 00:50

Yes, I am talking about Starlet Gianza.

phil > ATaylor-Jones
06/20/2014 at 12:40

they did come with an LSD as stock, and a close ratio box, and if your 'Gymkhana' is reffering to part 2 of the 'real king of 1.6l' video on youtube (where they put the n1 against a fully modded spoon type r after the n1 beat the stock type-r in part1) look at all 3 lap times, the n1 was almost a second slower in it's last lap compared to the second lap? not surprising from a Honda sponsored TV show ;)

fast focus > ATaylor-Jones
09/01/2014 at 19:08

The car in the pictures is mine. Its wildly modified tho the cc is now 2 liter 30 more hp but lots more torque. It has the factory option graphics now too. The parts take forever to source. Nice piece on them not many know a lot about them.

fast focus > ATaylor-Jones
09/01/2014 at 19:08

Nico Rudloff > phil
09/24/2014 at 23:24

You're correct, I was looking through the comments to see if somebody had brought this up, I was not disappointed :)

ehs > ATaylor-Jones
01/05/2015 at 19:18

Vzr's came with lsd differential as I have one, both the base line vzr model and the n1 vzr had lsd except for the seam welding in the chassis as you metioned. I've inspected it for myself on my vzr and did the research. Search by the discription "nissan pulsar vzr specifications" in the google search box. If both front wheels move in the same direction its an lsd differential, and if the wheels move in opposite directions its a open differential which is a standard differential.

ehs > ehs
01/05/2015 at 19:20

Thats of course if the front wheels are jacket up. In regards to my previous the previous reply.

Dr.Kamiya > ATaylor-Jones
12/22/2016 at 04:43

Did it not come with an LSD? Best Motoring says it has a viscous slip unit.