Nissan IF Concept

Plenty of people out there know their Nissans, probably even you, but the IF Concept is an obscure special that is yet to have its time in the limelight.

In the 1980s, when profits were enormous and goodwill for home brands pushed Japanese automakers to ever-greater success, engineering campuses had a similar problem to that of Silicon Valley: how to give a bunch of high-achievers a social life.

OK, so if you know your Nissans, you'll understand that the late-1980s and early 1990s was an extraordinarily high water mark. From competing at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, in World Rally Championship, Dakar, to the limited-edition 'Pike Factory' cars, to the Skyline GT-R, Saurus Jr. and countless cars in between, Nissan had proven itself as an automotive powerhouse at that time.

In 1987, with access to company tools and sanctioned company "off time" in mind, Nissan Technical Center (NTC) held its first New Car Concept Contest for employees to create their own proposal for a future product.

Naturally, Nissan employees—first a handful, then more than a 140 at the project's zenith—essentially chose to make a curvy Lancia Delta S4 out of parts off the shelf.

The S4, you'll recall, was the world-beating Lancia rally car with a turbocharger and supercharger bolted to a 1.8-litre 4-cylinder engine.

Funny story: at that time Nissan was also selling a car with a super- and-turbocharged engine, the half-size 930cc MA09ERT in its March SuperTurbo hatchback. Bubble economy cars, am I right?

As long as a March hatchback, the concept was much lower, 1,100mm (43.3 in) tall and wider, 1,695mm (66.7 in) wide—think second-generation Toyota MR2-ish. The MR2 was longer and taller than the IF. Look at how huge its side mirrors are to calibrate your sense of scale.