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This is one Nissan Sabre you don't want to come across on a cold, dark night

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<i>Image: Nathan Botha</i>
<i>Image: Nathan Botha</i>
Nathan Botha

There was a time when Nissan used to be one of the front-runners when it came to producing some of the quickest performance cars.

That time was in the early 80s to late 90s where everything from Skyline's to RX-7's and Supra's used to be the front-runners that many worshipped and still do.

Petrolheads find a way

Times haves changed massively since then. Where there was once a candyshop list of fast cars from which to choose, it has dwindled down significantly over the years. For Nissan, the 370Z and GT-R are now the solitary performance options available and both are out of the reach for the average Joe to afford.

The next best thing from then on would be to fit a performance engine from Nissan, but which one? One that has stood the test of time over the years and is extremely popular locally is the SR20. It comes in both naturally-aspirated and turbocharged form, with power figures from as low as 75kW, going all the way to 206kW.

READ | Beam me up, Chippy - Here's why Toyota's 3SGE engine has become a popular choice for petrolheads craving more speed

nissan sabre

Image: Nathan Botha

Pride and joy

The Sentra 200STI and Sabre 200GXI was the last affordable performance car to come out of the local Nissan stable - that was in the mid 90s and production ended some 20 years ago.

Instead of waiting a lifetime to buy a GT-R, local petrolheads fueled their need for speed by swapping the existing 105kW-rated engines of the Sentra's and Sabre's with that of the more powerful SR20VE and SR20DET. This is where Nathan Botha's story begins.

READ: Why a modern version of the Nissan SR20 wouldn't be a bad idea

For as far back as memory allows, Nate, as he is also known by many, has been a die-hard Nissan fan. The Nissan bug first bit when his older brother Newton, also a big Nissan fanbought a stock 1995 Nissan Sabre 200GXI.

After owning the car for a good number of years and also having already undergone the SR20VE conversion in that time frame with the help of Jason James who owns SVN Tuning, Newton sold the car to his baby brother - essentially keeping it in the family.

Nathan's elder brother Monray also helped with the dropping of the engine and lent his hand where needed to give his baby brother added assistance.


Do you own a car that's been in the family? Email us your pictures and stories!

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Image: Nathan Botha

Passion between brothers

As a VE, this car was as loud as they come and emits exhaust notes that would make a Japanese banshee proud. Leaving thick, black tyre marks and schooling Golf GTIs, is this car's bread and butter. One can only assume what it would be like with a turbo thrown in the mix.

Nathan got to work on his pride and joy, having the car fully resprayed and also fitting the hard-to-get 15-inch Calypso wheels off of the facelifted model. 

Under its bonnet was still the SR20VE, mated to a five-speed limited slip differential transmission. During this time, bigger brother Newton acquired a relatively stock facelifted Nissan Sentra and was missing the speed that the VE engine offered.

Upon seeing an SR20DET engine up for sale, the decision between the two parties were made to go purchase it. The plan was that the DET would be dropped into Nathan's car with the VE going the other way. A win-win situation.

The car spent most of its time in the hands of well-known mechanic Jason James who owns SVN tuning. He did most of the mechanical wizardry with the new engine like fixing the timing fitting the engine management system as well as a host of other odds and ends to get the new turbocharged powerplant up to spec. The car still has to go back to SVN tuning for further improvements although Nathan says he still wants to fit an exhaust downpipe as everything nears completion.

nissan sabre

Image: Nathan Botha

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