Japanese company plans to build Nissan SR20DET engines

Nostalgia for the cars of the 1980s and 1990s continues to be in full swing, especially on the side of the Japanese sports models which are now fetching sky-high prices on the second-hand market.

But it’s not just the vehicles that are hugely popular with enthusiasts. There is also a strong demand for parts, engines and gearboxes for these cars. Seeing this enthusiasm as a great business opportunity, a Japanese company intends to reproduce the famous SR20DET engine of Nissan with the manufacturer’s approval.

For the record, Nissan’s SR20DET engine is today one of the most iconic of the glorious era of the Japanese automobile industry, that is to say the end of the 1980s and the early 1990s.

This engine, which was never sold here but was imported in large numbers as a modification for certain Nissan models, found its way under the hood of popular models in Japan, such as the Nissan 180SX (sold by us as the Nissan 240SX), the Bluebird 2000SS the Pulsar GTI-R and the Silvia.

Here, the sporty 240SX was the target of this engine because our version was powered by a naturally aspirated 2.4-litre 4-cylinder. The SR20DET engine was clearly more attractive to enthusiasts due to its much greater modification potential, lower weight and rather remarkable reliability.

With a displacement of 2.0 liters, the SR20DET developed a power that varied between 201 and 247 horsepower depending on the vehicle for which it was intended, and produced a torque of up to 210 lb-ft.

In very limited quantity

With Nissan’s approval, the Japanese supplier will produce 30 examples of this famous engine, following the manufacturer’s technical specifications and plans. It is not yet known how much power and torque these reproductions will develop, but Mercury intends to take care of all the assembly of the engine block.

In screenshots obtained by Japanese media, however, we could read that the production of the SR20DET by Mercury would not necessarily be limited to only 30 copies. On a table, written in Japanese and where we see the planned quantity, we can read “undetermined production”, implying that the equipment manufacturer could produce more if a strong demand appeared.

You will have to get up early!

Considering the monster popularity for this engine, it is written in the sky that Mercury’s order forms will explode on the day of the opening of orders, scheduled for September 26, 2022. Moreover, if this engine interests you, Mercury invites you to contact her through the following Japanese telephone number: 042-625-2841, after 10 a.m. Tokyo time on September 26 (9 p.m. on September 25 for us). We suggest you be quick on the piton, because many fans of this engine will jump on their phones to order their copy!

For the price, Mercury will ask the sum of $12,371 CAD. Considering the rarity of these engines, especially in good condition, and their rising value in the used parts market, this price is quite reasonable, especially since this is a brand new reproduction, as if it was built by Nissan at the time.