Nissan 200SX 1.8 Turbo 16V S13

Drift kings, Initial D, and the entire tofu-delivery branch of car culture made sure we only truly started appreciating the Japanese rear-wheel-drive coupé once prices had already gone through the roof. And let's be honest: thirty years ago this was simply an affordable toy for someone who couldn't stretch to a Supra or an RX-7. Today you're talking about an icon. Funny how that works.

The S13 generation of the Nissan 200SX is arguably the purest example of what the Japanese got right in those years: a tidy, sharp coupé with a turbo engine up front, the driven wheels at the back, and in between a chassis that did exactly what you asked of it. No fuss, no electronic nanny locking away your fun, just a manual gearbox and a throttle connected to a CA18DET that lets out a cheerful whistle under boost.

For the uninitiated: that's the 1.8 Twin Cam with a Garrett turbo which, in the right hands, generates enough to plaster a broad grin across your face.

In the Netherlands this was the sort of car you dreamed of at eighteen while puttering over the dyke in your rusted-out first motor. I still remember how exotic these things seemed, with those typical early-nineties lines and those pop-up headlights that spring up at night like a startled squirrel. Pop-up headlights, children, were the absolute pinnacle of cool back then. These days the safety rules won't allow them anymore, so cherish what you've got.

Right, back to the 200SX in question. This Aztec Red S13 dates from 1992 and has a documented German life behind it that I rarely see laid out so neatly on paper. The first owner was a Hochbau construction firm from Hamm, after which the car passed through Essen into the hands of various enthusiasts. Somewhere around the turn of the millennium, an official Nissan dealer in Gelsenkirchen replaced the turbocharger under warranty, complete with warranty card and all.

That kind of paperwork from that era, preserved to this day, is what makes a collector's heart beat faster.

And there's more. This car recently had a thorough service that I'll just lay out in loving detail, because it's quite something. Oil and filter replaced, brake fluid replaced, coolant replaced, clutch fluid replaced, the clutch slave and master cylinder overhauled, the tank cleaned and a new battery fitted. On top of that, the complete timing has been renewed: new belt, two new tensioner pulleys, done by a Nissan specialist and properly invoiced.

Anyone who's ever owned an old Japanese car knows these are precisely the things you want done before you climb in. Here, that's the case.

I had it aligned myself at Prins Techniek in Noordwijk, because once you've got a rear-wheel-drive car standing properly on its feet, you want the camber and the tracking spot on. An S13 should steer cleanly, and this one does so just as it should once again.

The interior is finished in cloth, period correct and exactly as a young Japanese coupé from the early nineties ought to be. No leather armchairs, no wood veneer, but functional seats that hold you in place and a dashboard that breathes the fact that the engineers were mainly concerned with driving rather than showing off. Four seats, so in theory you can even cram two unfortunate souls in the back, though the fun wears off quickly for anyone taller than the average eleven-year-old.

What makes this 200SX so special isn't any single thing, but the sum of its parts. An honest, uncomplicated driver's car in a colour that lights up in the sun like a bag of Haribo, with a paper trail you rarely see this complete, and recent maintenance that has already caught the main troublemakers of a thirty-year-old turbo. This is no project. This is climb in and enjoy.

The S13 grows scarcer and more sought-after by the year, because the drift generation polished off the undamaged examples long ago. A tidy, paper-backed Aztec Red coupé that hasn't kissed a crash barrier fifteen times is no longer everyday fare.

Pop-up headlights, turbo whistle and rear-wheel drive: three things they no longer dare to build these days, all together here in one red coupé.

Special features

• Rare Nissan 200SX S13 1.8 Turbo 16V from 1992
• Striking Aztec Red solid paint
• Manual gearbox and rear-wheel drive, as it should be
• Garrett turbo, previously replaced under warranty at an official Nissan dealer
• Recent major service: oil, brake, coolant and clutch fluid renewed
• Clutch slave and master cylinder overhauled, tank cleaned, new battery
• Complete timing renewed at a Nissan specialist (belt plus two tensioner pulleys)
• Freshly aligned at Prins Techniek in Noordwijk
• Period correct cloth interior, four seats
• Iconic pop-up headlights
• Extensively documented German history with warranty cards
• Margin car

With a can of Pocari Sweat within arm's reach and Eurobeat playing in the background

Nick Slinger

Copywriter · HooG Selections