Nissan Sunny ZX Coupe Widebody
Not many people remember much about the Sunny ZX, Nissan’s sensible front-wheel drive Coupe from the late ‘80s and early ‘90s, ourselves very much included. That all changed when we were commissioned to build one for a customer and his very unique set of demands, and the resulting project, one that’s midway through completion at the time of writing, must rank as among the most unique in Retropower history.
First thing’s first, usage. The customer was at pains to point out that the overwhelming majority of his driving would be conducted within the confines of central London, a location hardly known for its winding B-roads and smooth, traffic free side streets. This meant that the customer was set on the Sunny being fitted with an automatic transmission from the word go, and who are we to argue?
Said auto-box will eventually be fitted to a C18DET, a known quantity and an engine capable of producing the kind of power requested by the car’s owner. The exact spec has yet to be finalised but it’s safe to assume it will sport the usual set of power enhancing modifications, including a remap and custom induction and exhaust.
It’s probably the bodywork that’s caused the most intrigue to date, as it really does appear for all the world like a truncated, micro R32 Skyline – no bad thing in our book. Custom steel work is very much the order of the day here, with one-off fabrication dominating almost every aspect of the Sunny from the sills backwards. There’s also the colour, a brand new shade found on the equally brand new Ford Mustang, Ford Magnetic Grey.
This is one of those projects that’s worth following from now on; the bodywork is complete and the shell painted, so it won’t be long until we can begin the task of reassembling it.