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The Nissan S12 is what I would call, a diamond in the rough. Never very popular, and very seldom heard about, they can be a very formidable car if you have the know how. Aftermarket support is slim, but mixing and matching parts from other vehicles can result in a sleeper that makes other people wonder what the hell kind of car that was.

My car is a 1987 S12 200SX SE-V6. It came from the factory with the VG30E 3.0 Liter SOHC V6, also found in the Z31 300ZX. This car has an independent suspension at all 4 corners and power is delivered to the rear wheels. My particular S12 has had quite a bit of suspension modifications, including front coilovers, custom camber plates, front and rear swaybars, solid aluminum rear subframe bushings, polyurethane control arm bushings, Koni IT racing struts up front and Tokico Illumina shocks in the rear. I have also installed a Quaife LSD in the differential to help lay down the power more efficiently.

For power adders, I've rebuilt the engine recently and upgraded while I was in there. I had the heads ported and larger intake and exhaust valves installed. Custom cams from Elgin Cams were installed for some extra oomph. A larger 60mm throttle body and Apexi intake were added for better breathing, as were a modified set of Z31 headers. The rest of the exhaust is custom, y'ing into a 2.5" single exhaust which exits just in front of the drivers side rear wheel. I've also removed all unecessary items under the hood, such as EGR and AIV systems. The battery has been moved to the back for better balance, and all sound deadening has been removed from the interior. A Sparco driver's seat helps keep me in place during autocrosses.

I also own a 1990 300ZX Twin Turbo, which is going through a construction phase at the moment.

These are a few pics from one of the autocrosses I participated in. With the suspension sorted out, and the torquey VG30E V6 under the hood, the car does surprisingly well. Very tossable and predictable car.

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