The S13 Nissan range of cars was born in 1988, following the previous versions of the S cars dating back to 1965. Within the S13 range of Nissans there are 2 main body styles, the Silvia and 180sx, a lesser known convertible Silvia, as well as combinations of both.

Silvia

Firstly, there is my favourite, the Silvia, which has a sedan style shape to it, and non-retractable headlights. This came with the CA18DE or DET, 1.8 litre natmo or turbo motors until early 1991, I believe, when it was changed for the 2 litre SR20DE or DET. My only real gripe with the design is the boot. The width is reasonably generous, but the depth, at approximately 30cm, leaves a lot to be desired. The 180sx is quite a bit better in this respect.

Different levels of specification were available within the range of S13 Silvias, those being the base model J's, mid spec Q's and top spec K's, ie. Jack, Queen and King. The J's version had a naturally aspirated motor and missed out on such niceties as electric windows and mirrors, and alloy wheels. The Q's still has the naturally aspirated motor, but gains the extras lacking in the J's. The K's has a turbo charged motor and a limited slip differential, on top of the features enjoyed by the Q's. Various options were also available, such as sunroofs, leather upholstery, digital dash, digital climate control air conditioning and dealer fitted Aero bodykits.

A rare convertible version of the Silvia was also available from the Nissan showrooms. This rather sexy machine was only sold with a CA18DET motor, automatic transmission and royal blue paintwork. In fact, my mate has one (pictured) that he has made into a very sweet example.

 

180sx

Secondly is the 180SX, which has swoopy sports car styling, pop-up lights, and a hatch type rear. Unlike the Silvia, the 180sx only came in turbo-charged version until the late 1990s. Flash extras like ABS, non-hession bag style interiors and the like were available on the later model 180s.

Sil-Eighty

'Drifting' (ie. hanging the tail out, tyres ablaze into and through corners) became a popular pastime in Japan, and as beginner 'drifters' learnt the art, panel damage was almost inevitable to their prized 180sxs. Silvia panels were apparently cheaper and easier to find than 180sx panels and thus the Sil-Eighty was born... Nissan picked up on this idea and released a genuine Sil-Eighty, which had a few tweaks, namely cams and tuning to give an extra 15+ kW and suspension mods to give the car some extra twitchiness for the true drifter...

Onevia

With all the drift king wannabes, who removed their undamaged 180 panels to get the Sil-Eighty look, a new market was found and that was for the Onevia, 180sx front and Silvia rear. The Americans also received a version of this as the 240sx, which is fitted with a 2.4 litre naturally aspirated motor... No factory turbo option was available, although many are taking the aftermarket route and fitting Japanese Domestic Market (JDM as the Yanks call it) SR20DET engines in place of the 2.4 litre.

Japanese Motor Sport in South Australia had a Onevia, which was painted in Hyundai Yellow. JMS had fitted an RB20DET (I believe), which made this into a serious, tyre smokin, drift weapon. C-Red got their hands on it, minus the motor, and had plans to put in an RB26DETT from the legendary Nissan Skyline GT-R...
I actually prefer the Onevia look to the Sil-Eighty...

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