Nissan MID4

The Nissan MID4 was an experimental sports car built by Nissan as a concept, first unveiled at the 1985 Frankfurt show and meant to go on sale in the mid to late 1980s to rival European supercars from Porsche and Ferrari. A team headed by Shinichiro Sakurai began the work in the spring of 1984 and finished the first four prototypes by March 1985. It had a mid-engine, all-wheel-drive layout, with a naturally aspirated V6, the newly designed VG30DE rated at 245 PS, which sent one third of its power to the front wheels and two thirds to the rear as a forerunner of the ATTESA system. It was also the first car with Nissan's HICAS four-wheel steering and had a claimed top speed of 250 km/h, with styling inspired by the Lotus Esprit and the Ferrari Testarossa. The MID4 was succeeded by the twin-turbocharged MID4-II shown at the 1987 Tokyo Motor Show, which also never reached production, although ATTESA, HICAS and the engine later reached other Nissan cars.