Nissan · 1978–2026

Nissan Pulsar GTI-R

The Nissan Pulsar (Japanese: 日産・パルサー, Hepburn: Nissan Parusā) is a line of automobiles produced by the Japanese automaker Nissan from 1978 until 2000, when it was replaced by the Nissan Bluebird Sylphy in the Japanese market. Between 2000 and 2005, the name "Pulsar" has been used in Australia and New Zealand on rebadged versions of the Sylphy. This arrangement continued until the introduction of the Nissan Tiida (C11) in 2005; at this time the Pulsar name was retired. In 2013, Nissan replaced the Tiida in Australia and New Zealand with two new models badged as Pulsar. These were based on the Sylphy (B17) sedan and Tiida (C12) hatchback, the latter also sold in Thailand under the Pulsar name. In 2014, a European-only replacement for the Tiida was introduced using the Pulsar nameplate. The original Pulsar was a hatchback to be sold exclusively at a different Nissan Japan dealership network called Nissan Cherry Store as a larger five-door hatchback alternative to the Nissan Cherry. Although Pulsar models were front-wheel drive from introduction, Nissan did offer four-wheel drive as an option on select models internationally. The Pulsar sold in Japan originally served as the intermediate model offered at Nissan dealerships Nissan Cherry Store, occupying a slot between the Nissan Violet and the Cherry. Meanwhile, other Pulsar derivatives served as the base model at other Japanese Nissan sales networks. Various Pulsar-based models were exported as international market conditions dictated, sometimes labeled as "Sunny", "Cherry", or "Sentra", even though they were not the same as the Japanese market Sunny or Cherry. The name "Pulsar" is taken from pulsar (portmanteau of pulsating star), a highly magnetized, rotating neutron star.

Text from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).

All Nissan Pulsar GTI-R data: UK builds, safety, recalls, model years → + Compare

N10, N11 (1978)

The N10 model Pulsar, introduced in May 1978, replaced the earlier Cherry F-II internationally, and benefited from the engineering efforts of the Prince Motor Company which developed the Nissan Cherry before the company merged with Nissan in 1966. It retained the rack-and-pinion steering of the Cherry, as well as the independent suspension with coilover struts in front and coil sprung trailing arms at the rear. The Pulsar was a subcompact car to augment the Sunny sedan. The Sunny and the Pulsar ranges were sold at different Nissan Japan dealerships, called Nissan Satio Shop for the Sunny, and Nissan Cherry Shop for the Pulsar. It retained the Cherry name in Europe and many other export markets, even being sold as the "Cherry Europe" in some markets such as Belgium to separate it from the Cherry F-II which remained on sale for a while. The "Cherry"-badged version was first introduced at the Dutch AutoRAI show in February 1979 and went on sale shortly thereafter. An unusual styling feature for the car was its long nose, which was due to Nissan envisaging that the car would also be built with a longitudinal rear-wheel-drive layout for developing markets; however, only front-wheel-drive models were actually built. At the time of introduction, the Pulsar only had a four-door fastback-styled sedan bodywork, and either a 1.2- or a 1.4-liter engine. The three-door and coupé hatchbacks arrived in September 1978. Many export markets also offered a 1.0-liter (A10) option, with 45 PS (33 kW) while the 1.2-liter A12 offered 52 PS (38 kW). This was the first passenger car Nissan assembled in their new Greek plant, where local partner TEOKAR built it with the 1.0 and 1.2-liter engines from 1980 on. This model was known as the Datsun Cherry or Datsun 100A/120A/130A/140A/150A in Europe

N12 (1982)

A more angular version was announced in April 1982, making its European debut in October. By this time, Nissan had more or less standardised its naming policy worldwide, so as a Nissan it tended, except in European markets, to be known as the Pulsar. In Europe it retained the "Cherry" moniker, and in Malaysia it was sold as the Nissan Langley. In South Africa the hatchbacks kept the Pulsar name for this generation, but the sedans were sold with Langley badging. This generation Pulsar hatchback, three-door and five-door, was sold in North America only for model year 1983. The US-market Pulsar hatchbacks were equipped with the same, 1.6-litre E16S engine as the Pulsar NX coupé, producing 69 hp (51 kW; 70 PS) at 5,200 rpm. The engine was equipped with a two-barrel carburetor and an oxidizing catalytic converter - California market cars received a three-way catalytic converter with no change to power or torque figures. A five-speed manual or a three-speed automatic were available in the United States. Some unusual options were carried over from the previous generation, such as having the rear locks (on four-door models) remote operated by cable from the front seat. The rear child locks could also be controlled with a slider mounted beneath the driver's seat. Asia. New Pulsar models were introduced in the Japanese home market with three- or five-door hatchback bodywork, as well as the Pulsar EXA two-door coupé. In June a four-door sedan arrived as well. Most Pulsars sold had flush-fitting, aerodynamic rectangular headlights, but the lowest-spec cars received smaller rectangular units set deeper within the grille surround. There was no van model of the N12 Pulsar; instead, Nissan Cherry stores sold a version of the B11-series AD Van as the "Pulsar AD." In May 1983 the 1.7-lit

N13 (1986)

In 1986, Nissan's design chief refused to follow the smoother, aerodynamic look of other cars, and told his design team to come up with an affordable, subcompact car. A squarer Pulsar N13 series was released as a result; innovations included a permanently four-wheel drive model with a viscous coupling which appeared in May 1986. In February 1987 a version with three viscous couplings was introduced: one for each axle and one in between. This was originally limited to a production of 200 cars, at a price increase 50 percent higher than for the regular four-wheel-drive version. For 1988 it became a regularly available model; this was very similar to the Attesa system which first appeared in the Bluebird soon thereafter. In 1986, the Pulsar won the Car of the Year Japan award. Capitalizing on the popularity of the larger R31 series Nissan Skyline, this generation shares many visual styling cues with the larger car. The N13 series EXA was spun off as its own model internationally, but retained the Pulsar NX name in the United States. It was designated as the N13 series, despite actually being based on the Nissan Sunny (B12) chassis. Asia. The Pulsar was sold in Japan as a three- and five-door hatchback, plus a four-door sedan. There was no turbocharged version of the N13 Pulsar, with Nissan choosing to focus on multivalve engines instead. In April 1988, the 1.5-litre engines were changed to the new GA generation. The Langley and the Liberta Villa (both sold as sedans and three-door hatchbacks) also continued sales in Japan as upmarket versions of the Pulsar, with a limited engine lineup. Both the Langley and Liberta Villa had slightly different bodywork to the Japanese-specification Pulsar—although most parts were interchangeable. Langley and Liberta Villa three-doors sport

N14 (1990)

In 1990, the N14 model saw Nissan turn to a more rounded design. The Langley and the Liberta Villa were replaced with the Nissan Primera, assigning the Primera to Nissan Prince Shop locations. This version of the car was launched in the United Kingdom as the Nissan Sunny from March 1991 and was the last generation of Sunny to be sold in Europe, where it was replaced late in 1995 by the Almera. One anomaly from this period resulted from Nissan taking control of its British import and distribution business from Automotive Financial Group (AFG); the acrimonious split between Nissan and Octav Botnar resulted in AFG sourcing the vehicle badged as the Pulsar and selling it concurrently in the UK alongside the "official" version (badged as the Sunny) by the newly established Nissan Motor GB. The European top-of-the-line model was the 2.0 GTI, equipped with the naturally aspirated SR20DE engine with 143 PS (105 kW) rather than the 1.8-litre version used in the home market. While powerful, the Sunny GTI was better equipped and more cosseting than its in-class competitors, with more sedate handling as well. This version continued to be offered in CKD kit form in New Zealand as the Sentra (unrelated to the version sold in North America). In Europe, the Sunny name continued, applied to three-door hatchback, five-door hatchback and four-door sedan models, alongside the separate model line Sunny California station wagon from Japan (called either the Sunny Estate or Sunny Traveller). This was the last generation of the Pulsar (now with Sunny badges, as in the rest of Europe) to be assembled in Greece, where TEOKAR went out of business in April 1995. There was no N14 Pulsar offered in the United States or Canada either. Instead, the North American Pulsar for those markets evolved into

N15 (1995)

In 1995, the N15 Pulsar was launched as a compact car, rather than subcompact, and sold in Europe as the Nissan Almera. The New Zealand Nissan Sentra changed name to Pulsar after the Nissan assembly plant in Wiri, Auckland closed down in 1998, in favor of imports from Japan. Again, four- and five-door models were offered, with three-door models being available in Europe and Japan only, and not Australia and New Zealand. North American customers did not receive this car, with the Sunny-based Sentra B14 being sold there instead. The chassis designation "N" series carried over to the Bluebird Sylphy (N16) in 2000 for the Japanese market. The Australian versions included the LX, SLX, Q and SSS variants. New Zealand specific versions included the S and SE variants. The SSS model (5-door hatch only) featured the SR20DE engine featuring 143 PS (105 kW; 141 hp) and 179 N⋅m (132 lb⋅ft). The station wagon continued to be from the Sunny, later spun off in Japan into the Nissan Wingroad. Trim levels. Japan In Japan, the N15 was available under numerous nameplates, giving Nissan in Japan the opportunity to sell the Pulsar at two different Japanese network dealerships, called Nissan Cherry Store that sold the Pulsar, and Nissan Satio Store that sold the Lucino. Hatchback models were badged Pulsar Serie. Japanese market N15 Pulsar and Lucino models had drivers airbag as standard. Passenger airbag was an option in 1995 and standard from 1996 onwards. Speedometer became digital from 1998. A tachometer was not present on the Pulsar Rezzo, CJ-I, CJ-II, or Lucino BB models. Air conditioning was standard on almost all models, but was available as a delete option. Manually operated windows were fitted on the low-cost Rezzo, CJ-I, CJ-II, and Lucino BB models, otherwise electric windows were

N16 (2000)

In Australia and New Zealand, Nissan continued to use the Pulsar name for the N16 series that was labelled Nissan Bluebird Sylphy in Japan.

Sections adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0); text is shortened. Read the full article for the complete history and citations.

Specifications

Manufacturer

Nissan

Production

1978–2005, 2014–2018, 2016–2026 (China)

Class

Subcompact car (1978–1995), Compact car (1995–2005, 2014–2018)

Predecessor

Nissan Cherry

Successor

Nissan AD/Wingroad (station wagon), Nissan Bluebird Sylphy, Nissan Tiida

Specification summary from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Measured facts from Wikidata (CC0). Check the linked sources for citations.

More photos

Sources

• Wikidata — https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1569101CC0 1.0 · retrieved 2026-10-01
• Wikipedia — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nissan_PulsarCC BY-SA 4.0 · Text © Wikipedia contributors; revision 1377103184 · retrieved 2026-10-01
• Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Nissan_Sunny_GTI-R_1X7A8106.jpgCC BY-SA 4.0 · Photo: Alexander Migl · retrieved 2026-10-01
• Car Model Index — https://models.autoculturesociety.com/Compiled record. Sources that do not permit reuse are not copied; this index is credited instead.

More from Nissan