Heritage Edition Nissan Pulsar unveiled at Bathurst

NISSAN has created a special limited run of its Pulsar SSS hatch named the Heritage Edition to celebrate the Japanese brand's momentous pole position start at Bathurst 30 years ago.

Priced from $28,990 driveaway, the commemorative Pulsar shares the same blue and red body stripes that the Nissan Bluebird Turbo wore when it broke the Bathurst lap-record in 1984 at the hands of George Fury.

The SSS Heritage Edition will be limited to just 40 examples but will also represent the performance bargain of the Pulsar range, undercutting the standard SSS by $800, while forfeiting none of the standard equipment.

Priced at $29,790, the regular SSS is subject to on-road costs so the driveaway pricetag of the limited edition offers even better value than the $800 difference.

Like the standard car, the special edition will be available with Nissan's Xtronic CVT for a $2641 premium taking the price up to $31,631 – also driveaway.

Other special edition-defining features include matched floor mats, head rests, interior badging, an official plaque and a Nissan Motorsport team shirt.

In addition to its bold stripes and Nissan-branded livery, the Heritage Edition Pulsar will be offered in base colours of either Polar White or Brilliant Silver.

Nissan says the 1.6-litre turbocharged Pulsar SSS is the perfect car to acknowledge the achievements of the Bluebird three decades ago as it was the first turbocharged car to claim outright pole position for the Bathurst 1000.

The competition Bluebird Turbo couldn't claim victory at the 1984 race but its sub-2:14 record stood for another seven years.

Nissan Motor Company Australia managing director Richard Emery said the campaign to highlight Nissan's success in local motorsport was going well.

“We have been really pleased with the response to our Bathurst heritage campaign to date,” he said. “Australian motorsport fans genuinely appreciate the history of the sport and legends such as George Fury.”

As with all SSS Pulsar variants, the Heritage Edition gets a 140kW/240Nm 1.6-litre turbocharged four-cylinder engine capable of doing the 0-100km/h dash in about 7.5 seconds and returning fuel consumption of 7.7 litres per 100km.

Standard kit includes 17-inch wheels, Xenon headlights and fog-lights, keyless entry and start, leather accented seat trim, 5.8-inch touchscreen with navigation, Bluetooth connectivity, reversing camera and six-speaker sound system.

As another nod to the past and Nissan's Bathurst heritage, Nissan V8 Supercar driving brothers Todd and Rick Kelly have selected a Nissan Bluebird TRX as their vehicle to complete the journey to Mount Panorama before competing this weekend.

The brother's road-trip to the circuit has become an annual tradition lasting more than a decade, and this year's vehicle of choice is one of six special promotional cars built by Nissan Australia in 1982.

Pulsar SSS Heritage Editions will begin rolling into Nissan dealership later this month with numbers of the silver, white, auto and manual evenly split, so early inquiries are recommended to avoid disappointment.

Nissan Pulsar hatch pricing

1.8 ST	$19,290
1.8 ST-L	$22,590
1.6 ST-S	$25,490
1.6 SSS Heritage Edition	$28,990*
1.6 SSS	$29,790

*Drive-away price.