Small-town dealer has immaculate S12 that you NEED to own

6 June, 2017

 

It ain’t every day that you stumble across perhaps one of the best examples of Silvia rarity, and it sure as hell ain’t everyday that it’s located at a Chevy dealership in middle of nowhere USA. But here is that exact gem, a first-year-only colour, super-low kilometre, and triple pedal example of ’80s radness — a left-hook 1984 Datsun 200SX Turbo hatch.

While we know the Silvia range well down under, it’s a somewhat unknown and ‘foreign’ term to most of the American public — bar the hardcore Japanese-tin fans that will know of the  S13, S14, and maybe S15. I mean, its even still badged as a Datsun …

Perhaps that’s why this particular example hasn’t already become a drift missile and still represents the sophisticated sport coupe-era of the ‘80s. It’s powered by a SOHC CA18ET heart, premiering the ultimate in era technological advances like turbos and the magnificences of  multi-port injection.

It has only seen 58,692km of driving duties, which is rather impressive for it’s age, and the seller claims it has been stored indoors for its entire existence. It has also recently undergone a serious amount of maintenance to bring it back to health after sitting for some time. 

If you fancy getting your hands on this near-on museum condition piece of automotive goodness, there is still time on the eBay auction — it will set you back approximately $14,705 NZD for buy cost alone at the moment and no doubt will shoot up in the last minutes (then you need to factor in the rest).

Will we see it on our shores? Probably not, still pretty awesome though.

 

Lunch with… Jim Palmer

In the 1960s, Hamilton’s Jim Palmer won the prestigious ‘Gold Star’ four times and was the first resident New Zealander home in the New Zealand Grand Prix on five consecutive occasions. He shared the podium with Stirling Moss, Jack Brabham, Bruce McLaren, Graham Hill, Jim Clark, Denny Hulme, Jackie Stewart, and Chris Amon. The extent of his domination of the open-wheeler scene in New Zealand will probably never be matched or exceeded. Yet he’s always been modest about his achievements.

NZ Classic Car magazine, May/June 2025 issue 399, on sale now

Who would have thought it would become such a worldwide motorsport star when Ford introduced the humble Escort in 1967?
Its popularity, particularly in Mark 1 form, is now of iconic status. Our cover story for this issue is on a 1968 Ford Escort Mark 1, Alan Mann Racing Tribute. We talked with the owner of this very special Escort, finished in tribute also to the owner’s father.
“Most children love speed, and motorsport typically comes courtesy of a parent, and Elliott is no different. His engineer father, Mark, had a love for motorcycles and going fast; however, when children came along, he swapped two wheels for four, in the form of two Ford Escorts.
Little did Mark know it at the time, but the humble Escort was about to weave its way into the family fabric once and for all.
After emigrating from London to New Zealand, Elliott recalled one evening when he was 14 being invited to tag along by his father, helping a friend convert an Escort road car into a racing car. This was the pivotal moment when Elliott remembers the motorsport bug taking over. He knew he had to have his own one.”