Nissan Micra 350SR - hot hatch with 310 hp V6 in the back seat
Thread Starter
Wannabe yuppie
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 25,918
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From: Madison, WI
This is a new one on me: I’m about to drive a car for the second time and, uniquely, I’m actually more daunted than I was first time around. Usually, the second time’s a doddle, even in the most exotic machinery; you’ve had a go, you’ve got know each other and, if it was a challenge – well, you’ve won.
So what’s different this time? Two things, both centred around our location. I first drove the Micra SR (then called the R) in the entertaining company of Mike Mallock at Silverstone’s short, open Stowe Circuit almost two years ago. Back then, the Micra sported a lightweight de-tuned 260bhp touring car motor and sequential gearbox. That’s reason one – the unreliable old motor has been thrown out and a tuned, 306bhp V6 motor from the 350Z (a somewhat larger, more powerful and, I suspect, heavier engine), has been installed in its place. So I dare say that today we’re more than likely to encounter a wee bit of oversteer.
Not that that’s necessarily a problem in itself, but for reason two, which is that rather than Silverstone, I’m now at Cadwell Park. It’s a circuit I’d never visited until twenty minutes ago, and three sighting laps in a cooking Micra alongside Christian Vann, who finished 8th at this year’s Le Mans, has done my confidence few favours. There are untold gradients and cambers, of the sort that could make life really interesting in a 306bhp mid-engined Micra, and those run-off areas don’t look too wide either. Vann reckons that Cadwell is “one of the most difficult and challenging race circuits in Europe.” Just the place to be throwing a unique, mid-engined, 350Z-tyred pseudo-race car around, then.
Still, I’ve some time before my drive to muse about some details. This Micra shell is a one-off, sports a roll cage and two racing seats, and overall weight is 1,250kg. The engine’s block is actually from a Murano but with 350Z heads, and has tuned by NISMO with the addition of high lift cams, a modified ECU, improved breathing and an exhaust you could lose a cricket bat in. Instead of the earlier car’s sequential ‘box, there’s a conventional six-speed manual from a Nissan US Altima SE-R, while wheels and tyres are off the 350Z and fill the SR’s arches quite purposefully. Estimated performance sees 0-60mph in under five seconds and the top end’s more than 150mph. Oh, and like the previous incarnation, it’s still entirely road legal.
A quick rumble to the shops and back is, however, not on the agenda today. So, helmet donned, I drop myself into the driver’s seat, which although it slides on rails like a conventional seat, has no height adjustment. Now, I’m no shortarse, but Mallock is considerably taller than me and it shows in the driving position. With my legs set-up nicely for some heel-and-toe work on the pedals, the steering wheel, even on its lowest adjustment setting, is still at least at shoulder level, so it’s a stretch to reach the top of it and I’m peering over the rim like a Sunday-driving octogenarian.
Still, backing out on grounds that I look a bit of an eejit and my arms might ache would be a bit weak so, first gear engaged, I head out onto the track. Which is where its first apparent that the change from a four-pot to a V6 is a good one – there’s a shed-load of torque, and it sounds fantastic – a deep, throaty bwaoorrp at low-revs, building to an impressive howl further round the rev-range.
The first corners we hit are a complex set of on-camber downhill curves, where the Micra shows itself to be agile, and the steering peculiarly light, probably because of the lack of weight on the front end. I opt for a slow-in, fast(ish) out cornering technique, which seems to find approval from Mallock, passengering. Going in too hot and braking mid-bend, a couple of my colleagues later tell me, is a sure-fire way to end up going backwards and peering all-too worriedly at the approaching Armco, and that’s a situation I’m keen to avoid.
So I choose smoothness all the way, gradually building up to a fairly decent lick which, as it turns out, is pretty fast – we’re sharing the track with some Micra 160SRs and they flash backwards like they’re standing still. And after a lap or two I try being just a little generous on the throttle at some corner exits; the 350SR straightens itself nicely, no fuss, no drama, just fast-gathering pace and one of the finest engine notes on the planet.
After three laps, the fear of this car and location has gone and I’m having a thoroughly good time, which is, inevitably, when my session ends. Still should I get to drive it for the third time, I’m unlikely to be so daunted again. So now, I’ve just got to engineer the opportunity. Well, it is road legal…
http://www.autocarmagazine.com/First...p?RT_ID=216183
Thread Starter
Wannabe yuppie
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 25,918
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From: Madison, WI
Here's a quick automotive cookery lesson. For the basic ingredients you'll need a standard Nissan Micra 1.4 SX and the 3.5-litre V6 engine normally used in the Murano cross-over. Take the Micra and remove its engine, gearbox, ancillaries and the entire interior save the dashboard. Under the now empty bonnet install a fuel tank and a large radiator borrowed from the nearest Almera, Nissan America's mid-range family saloon. Next, gently remove your motorsport-tuned V6 from its packaging and bolt into the space normally provided by the Micra's boot. Attach the engine to a gearbox from the fiery Altima SE-R and leave to stand. When suitably chilled, install a web of tubing to the inside of the shell to create a strong roll cage and add two racing seats complete with five-point harnesses for good measure. At each corner of the car, remove wheel and suspension components and replace with units from Nissan's most sporting car, the 350Z. Finally, dress the Micra with wide arches, deep bumpers, extra air intakes and a striking colour scheme and voila, you have transformed your Nissan Micra 1.4 SX into the Nissan Micra 350SR. Step back, relax and admire your hard work. Then, suitably rested, jump into the driver's seat, punch the starter button and enjoy.
A far-fetched fantasy? No, this is exactly what RML - a company set up by Ray Mallock, a man with Le Mans and BTCC race pedigree - was asked to do by Nissan. The Micra 350SR started life as a concept car to celebrate Nissan's racing heritage, but reached road-going reality when Nissan's Japanese design director decided he wanted one to drive around in. Although the mad Micra will never set for the showroom floor, top bods at Nissan would love to see a one-make series championship with 20 350SRs hooning around tracks across Europe. RML rose to the challenge and has built one track-ready example, and I'm here to drive it.
Now, I'll admit I've not got a great deal of track experience. My inaugural track outing involved a Renault Megane 225 and a trip across a rather large gravel trap, and my second try was on a little twisty French circuit surrounded by acres of open run-off. This time, I'm at Cadwell Park - a track described by some as a mini Nurburgring. This daunting circuit has a flurry of long, fast curves, some very tight bends and one rather nasty hairpin. And while I'm used to sedately-driven Micras with BSM cones on the roof, this one's a totally different beast. This Micra packs an insane 306bhp, which rockets it to 60mph in under five seconds and on to a bonkers top speed of 150mph. Mirror, signal, manoeuvre? I don't think so...
Michael Mallock, Ray's son and an accomplished racer, will accompany me. He's given me some advice on how to emerge from Cadwell in one piece. "You must remember to come off the brakes before turning in to a corner," he tells me as I get strapped in, "otherwise this thing has a tendency to flip itself round."
Duly nervous, I punch the starter button and the V6 erupts into life - its manic sound envelops the stripped-out cabin. I engage the extremely heavy clutch, "it loosens up when we're at speed", select first gear and move rather slowly out onto the track. I'm through Hall Bends (a quick right/left chicane) without any drama and increase my speed (at Michael's instruction) into the hairpin, hard on the brakes, turn in, and on to the power into a longer right-hander and - oh bugger, I've not come off the brakes before turning in. Luckily Michael was on hand to grab the wheel before I managed to stuff the priceless Micra into the banking. We're now facing the wrong way down the track, which if I had it to myself wouldn't be a problem, however round the corner comes a Micra 160SR being driven in anger by another enthusiastic hack. Thankfully, he spotted me - although to be fair a wide-arched red and silver Micra isn't exactly easy to miss - and drove round without incident.
Michael restarts the Micra and I gently turn it so we're facing the correct way down the track. I'm reminded to brake, then turn, before told to give it my all on the back straight. I lift off before the left-hand Coppice corner (incidentally the Micra 160SR will happily go through at 80mph; I'm barely doing half that speed, and I've got nearly three times the power) and onto the long sweeping right-hand Charles corner. Then back onto the power hard up the Park Straight and over the crest before slowing slightly for the Chris Curve, back onto the power, slowing for the Gooseneck chicane before barrelling down the hill towards Mansfield. I feed the car gently round the tight left-hander, before giving a quick burst of power before the very technical Mountain. The crest is completely blind, but Michael signals for me to put the power down before we complete the lap.
One lap down, two to go. I treat the Micra with care around the course; threading it gingerly through the incidental right-hander from the first lap, even ending up getting passed by paltry 110bhp Micra 160SRs through the corners. But with over 300bhp, the Micra 350SR is a little bit of a handful. Because of the lack of weight over the front wheels there is very little feel through the steering wheel and Michael is quick to chastise me before I attempt any lurid powerslides through the long sweeping corners. I'm more than happy to return to the paddock with the car in one piece, than to make my mark (literally) on the track.
Once stopped, we swap seats and Michael takes to the track to show me how it's really done. Without a doubt, he's a lot faster than me, lighting up the rear tyres and filling the cabin with the sweet smell of burnt rubber on the faster corners, blipping the throttle on the downshifts and showing a degree of control that comes from knowing a car inside out. But for anyone who's had little experience with it, the Micra 350SR can bite - very hard.
With the demise of the Clio V6 it would be nice to see another mid-engined V6 supermini on the road, but unfortunately this Micra's too extreme to go into production. But as a lesson in automotive cookery, the Micra 350SR is the full Gordon Ramsay experience - complete with multiple expletives.
http://www.channel4.com/4car/road-te...san/350sr.html
