We.. we weren't meant to meet like this...: The N12 Turbo Twins.

Nissan. N12. Turbo.
..and salty automotive-sympathy related tears..

Not even my birthday.
Took the day off work today to get a few things done. Somehow or another, I may have spent a majority of my day at two different wreckers.. because I was nearby.. you know. I hadn't been to one of them for a while.. and it had been almost a week since I'd been at the other.. but I was nearby.. aaand.. urgh.

What did I see? What piqued my vehicular related excitement so much I needed to then bang on about it later on that same day?
It was a pair of fingered-yet-original, N12-chassis, Turbo Nissan's: a 1985 N12 Pulsar Exa Turbo, and a 1985 N12 Pulsar ET Turbo.

For what were once performance heroes, and later a modification base of choice; these two have been unbelievably thin on the ground for the last decade or more. The Exa is up there with the Cordia  or Starion Turbo's for personal drop-my-shit neck-snapping, but the Pulsar ET.. may as well be a Veyron.

But first - The Exa..

As above - 1985 KHN12 Nissan Pulsar EXA Turbo.
Produced from 82/83 through to 1986. Sub 900kg; with a single-cam, fuel-injected, E15ET turbo four driving the front wheels.

Red. Decals. Popup lights. Classic almost-an-AW11 roofline..
..and some subtle performance-related hinting..?

TUR BO

Pulsar EXA...

..TURBO!

TURBO
(That obnoxiously contrasting violet-to-blue fabric on a red car.. Unghf..)

TURBO

TURBO

NISSAN PULSAR EXA TURBO.

What a sweet little thing.
This looks like it may have been in the yard for a little bit now, as it gives that gradually-picked-over vibe.
What's left gives a good look at what was actually a (sadly) unmolested and original car. Despite being worn through in many places, that original red paint could've been sympathetically polished up. Didn't have to be perfect, but as I wrote in that old Suzuki Swift post recently: that ship has sailed. opportunity passed. Now it'll get gradually pulled apart until its pancaked..


..moving on from the usual grumbling..


...and onto the Exa's showroom buddy, the ET hatch:

..Complete with the same picture posted above!

Again; 1985 RHN12 Nissan Pulsar ET Turbo.
This time an Australian-specific thing, interestingly built 30km from where it was sitting as of 3-o'clock this afternoon - thirty years and two months ago.
Introduced in 1984 with a fairly simple recipe: get the existing N12 Pulsar 5dr hatchback body, the Exa's 1.5litre Turbo four, bigger wheels and tyres, a couple spoilers, some relatively substantial suspension and braking changes, pop it in the microwave..

...PULSAR TURBO..

..TURBO..

...OOOooo...

The complete and patina-riffic E15ET. No intercooler here...

...a sheetmetal airbox though! Not bad, Nissan..

Standard, other than a 'subtle' dumpy tip bodged on by a previous owner. I should have taken a closer photo of that - it was seriously shyte..

The unique hot-cross-bun, 4-spoke 14" alloys, and more impressively; the rear disk brakes.

Chunky two-spoke wheel, and what looks like the Exa's TURBO cluster. Love the little boost gauge sits closest to the speedo...

The 'Sports design reclining front bucket seats with driver's lumbar support and woollen plaid seat trim'; filthy, but the colour's still there.. and I'd guess would likely clean up alright! I love the matching doorcards here - the light blue and bright plaid looks great against the dark carpet and dash.


Done.



Melancholy feels here.
Sad that this is two less classic turbo Nissan's roaming the streets, and 1985-production means they're both here on their 30th anniversary..
..yet I guess I'm stoked I had the opportunity to pore over two mostly complete and original cars on the same day.







TURBO!