GT cars are usually expensive. Given the class and elegance that it brings, most people really do not have the money to pay for such. With the Nissan Leopard, it is different. Considered a GT car technically but it still tries to keep up with the mid-range buyers, this car is a great option if you are trying to be practical.
Evolution of Nissan Leopard
Built by the Japan-based carmaker, Nissan, the Nissan Leopard is one of the attempts of the car manufacturing company to follow up on the success of both the Laurel and Skyline.
The big difference was that the Leopard wasn’t really able to fill the shoes of the former Nissan models. The Nissan Leopard is a front-engined and rear wheeled GT car that makes use of a four-speed automatic or a five-speed manual transmission. The five-speed transmission, however, was only available in Japan.
The Nissan Leopard was a GT car that was exclusively sold in Japan through the Nissan Blue Stage dealership during its first version. The Nissan Leopard was also known in different names. In fact, the first Leopard was known as Leopard TR-X when it was introduced in September 1980. The first Nissan Leopard was built in order to stand against the Toyota Chaser.
The second generation of the Leopard was the F31. Produced from 1986 to 1992, it has reached US soil and gained considerable success. During those times, there were 5,000 units imported into the US. The F31 Nissan Leopard came in the name of Infiniti M30. Competing this time against the Toyota Soarer, the Nissan Leopard had a few facelifts having a smoother front. With better details in the windows, the Nissan Leopard is a worthy competitor to the successful Toyota Soarer. The body of the Nissan Leopard tough was a bit angular. As for the performance of the second version of the Nissan Leopard, the VG20 VG engine produced a good torque making it a reliable GT car.
The third generation of the Nissan Leopard was nicknamed the J Ferie which is a French term for Holiday. In 1992, it was sold at the same time as the Honda Civic Ferio. Unlike the rounded luxury high-end vehicles of its time, the Nissan Leopard was less rounded and smaller than these high-end counterparts. The car was powered by a 210 horsepower V6 engine though no turbo was available on this particular model.
One of the struggles of Nissan in order to clinch the GT car market was to provide a depiction of a luxury car. The interior of the third generation Nissan Leopard made the difference as to how the car could be featured as a legitimate GT car. Poltrona Frau made the necessary changes for the interior in just five days.
The last variant of the Nissan Leopard was released in 1996 and ended in 1999. The last version of the Nissan Leopard made use of B Pillar, which made it a great car in terms of safety. It has provided a better impact resistance to the car from the side. The timing of the car also played a great role in its success. In fact, since the economic conditions already became better and favorable for business, this made positive effects on the sales of the Nissan Leopard.