1991 Nissan Pulsar GTi-R

This car is an example of the JDM Nissan Pulsar GTI-RA which was built in August 1991 and is categorised as a Series 1b for those who know their GTI-Rs (search for GTI-R Registry for more info).

Having been owned for around 10 years in the Chiba prefecture on the eastern coast of Honshu in Japan, it was imported to the UK by JDM specialists Windsor Classics of Surrey in June 2002. By the time of its initial UK MOT the car had covered 27,500 miles (with the speedo now converted to mph).

The first private UK owner drove the car for a few years, maintaining and improving it whilst adding around 23k miles. He was thinking of having it tuned for more power (to match his friend’s 440hp GTI-R) and took it to our vendor who runs a motorsports company.

For an undisclosed reason, the owner decided not to commission the modifications and was on the verge of emigrating to Jamaica. Finding out that to take the GTI-R with him would cost a fortune in import duty, he asked if our vendor wanted to buy it from him instead.

Not being a JDM enthusiast himself, the vendor decided to dry store the car where it has remained since late 2005 / early 2006. With lockdowns giving him more spare time than usual, he brought it out of hibernation and recommissioned the car to get it through an MOT and ready for sale. The odometer is now showing 55,000 miles.

There were only four colour options for the first series GTI-Rs; Ivory White, Blueish Grey, Super Red and “Kuro” - which is Japanese for Black. Black was by far the most common colour and, as in this example, it gives what is a small car a meaner, more aggressive appearance.

The finish appears very strong and, so far as we can see, there are no paint issues or bodywork dents worth mentioning. The vendor reports having no knowledge of any bodyshop work being done on the car in the UK.

The glass is all original and some still carry the car’s Japanese inspection and service stickers.

The Pulsar sits on its original 14-inch 7-spoke alloy wheels which look in excellent order and were all very recently fitted with brand new Toyo Proxes tyres (dated 2020). They’re so new, the coloured line around the tread is still visible.

As you might expect, the driver’s seat shows the most creasing and “patina” on the fabric and the side bolster is a little crushed from repeated entry and exit. There is also a small area of snagging on the facing of one of the rear seat backs. The vendor decided that it was better to retain originality than have the seats retrimmed.

Otherwise the interior is excellent. The gearknob is a new genuine Nissan part and looked so good that the vendor had the steering wheel retrimmed by Royal Steering Wheels in a matching hand-stitched leather. The dash and centre console appear to be intact without any sun damage or other issues. The car has its original radio cassette player and as far as we have been able to test, the electricals and other equipment operates as expected.

The grey carpets are clean and intact throughout and are further protected by original Pulsar floor mats front and back. Up above the light grey headlining also appears clean and taut.

With a touch of driver convenience more often associated with Rolls-Royce, the car’s original umbrella is still stowed behind the yellow tag in the driver’s door jamb.

Under the bonnet, the engine bay is in a near immaculate condition with little or no rust to be seen around the metalwork. The gleaming intercooler to catch the air from the bonnet scoop sits on top of the cherry-red valve cover of the SR20DET engine. All the other ancillaries appear in good order with evidence of recent renewal of some components.

The car’s undersides look fairly clean and tidy with the expected surface rust on some of the bracketry and fixings around the engine and steering linkages (this is most likely to be UK rust as they don’t salt the roads in Japan). The underbody panels have been well coated in Waxoyl or similar. What appears to be a stainless steel exhaust looks in good condition with no damage.

Inside the hatchback boot, the unmolested parcel shelf and its hangings are intact. This features an interesting design with hinged side panels to better cover the opening. The boot linings and carpets are clean and underneath is a temporary use spare wheel fitted with an unused Bridgestone tyre. The jack and tool box are all present and in perfect condition.

The Pulsar has a current MOT, valid until December 2021 which it passed with no advisories following some work on the brake lines, electrics and suspension. There are also paper MOT reports from 2002 (for first UK registration) and 2005 in the history file.

The car comes with its original set of Japanese owner’s handbooks, several service and inspection sheets and numerous UK invoices for replacement parts, repairs and upgrades.

Before looking through the photos of the Japanese service history, it is worth noting that dates are given in the traditional Japanese calendar format which enumerates the year by the era of each Emperor. For example 1991, when the car was first supplied, is H3 (Heisei era) which is the third year of Emperor Akihito’s reign.

There are entries in the service handbook and additional inspection paperwork to show the Japanese service history as follows (which we’ve translated to the international calendar for you):

Oct 1991 (H3) - 681km

Mar 1992 (H4) - 2,617

Sep 1992 (H4) - 5,490

Feb 1993 (H5) - 6,657

Aug 1994 (H6) - 12,561

Aug 1996 (H8) - 24,029

Aug 1998 (H10) - 35,485

There are also numerous UK invoices, including the original UK bill of sale, and these are the most significant in terms of work done:

Feb 2003 - full exhaust system

Mar 2003 - clutch master cylinder

Jul 2004 - clutch

Jul 2004 - dyno test, almost 192hp at the wheels

The vendor reports that as far as he can tell every nut bolt and clip in the engine bay is original with no 3D printed parts on the car such as often seen for the front towing eye cover or air box parts. It has its original umbrella and emergency flare (mandatory in Japan).

The car comes with two sets of keys and fobs for the Clifford alarm system.

We include an online HPI report run at the auction start which shows no finance outstanding and no insurance markers for theft or damage.

The Nissan Pulsar GTI-R isn’t especially rare in Japan, but there aren’t so many here in the UK. There were only around 100 domestic Sunny GTI-Rs sold in the UK with fewer than 90 still registered, so they are harder to come by. But they don’t have such a cosmic name and were also lower in power than the JDM Pulsar GTI-R models.

This fine example starts on the button and drives superbly, maintaining good oil pressure and water temperature. It is a supremely original car in excellent unmodified condition, with many authentic fittings and accessories. It has a good history both from Japan and the UK and low mileage for a 30 year old car, so we think it will fetch between £15,000 and £25,000.

If you’re looking for an early ‘90s pocket rocket, but want to stand out from the crowd of Golf GTi and Escort XR3i hot hatches, then this JDM Pulsar GTI-R is well worth a closer look.

Inspection is always encouraged (within Govt. guidelines of course), and this particular car is located with us at The Market HQ near Abingdon; to arrange an appointment please use the Contact Seller button at the top of the listing. Feel free to ask any questions or make observations in the comments section below, or try our ‘Frequently Asked Questions’.