The Nissan Pintara is a mid-sized automobile that was manufactured by Nissan Australia from 1986 until 1992.
First generation (R31; 1986–1990)[]
The first generation R31 Nissan Pintara is a mid-sized family car which was built by Nissan Australia at its Clayton, Victoria assembly plant in Melbourne from mid-1986. Replacing the locally produced Nissan Bluebird (910), it was based on the Nissan Skyline with a single fuel-injected 2.0 litre four-cylinder engine, entirely built and sold in Australia to compete with the Mitsubishi Magna. Like the Australian built six cylinder R31 Skyline, it was offered in sedan and station wagon form.
Four specification levels of the R31 Pintara were offered: GLi, Executive, GX, and GXE. A TRX bodykit package was offered for the GX and GXE sedans, featuring a front and rear air dam, rear spoiler, side skirts, grille cover, alloy wheels and low profile tyres. Unlike the later U12 TRX, this did not feature any mechanical upgrades. The sole engine choice was a 2.0 litre CA20E inline-four, producing 78 kilowatts (105 hp) (DIN) at 5,200 rpm and 160 newton metres (120 ft·lbf) (DIN) at 3,200 rpm. This unit was SOHC, multi-point fuel injected featuring electronic concentrated control system (ECCS) including electronic ignition. It featured two spark plugs per cylinder to help meet emission requirements.
Second generation (U12; 1989–1992)[]
The first generation Pintara was replaced in 1989 by a model initially dubbed by the media as "Project Matilda", which turned out to be a locally produced front-wheel drive version of the Nissan Bluebird (U12), rather than a model uniquely designed for Australia as initial stories had indicated. In Australia, this was sold as the Nissan Pintara (U12), also available as a locally designed five-door "Superhatch". The sedan and Superhatch were exported to New Zealand as the Nissan Bluebird (replacing locally assembled models sourced from Japan) and, also as a Bluebird, the Superhatch went to Japan. The U12 model was discontinued in mid-1992 when Nissan Australia ceased local production and New Zealand reverted to local assembly of the next generation Bluebird from Japanese kits.
Under the Button car plan, in which local manufacturers shared models, Ford Australia marketed a rebadged version of the U12 Pintara sedan and hatchback as the Ford Corsair.
Nissan fitted a 2.0 litre CA20E inline-four engine to the GLi and Executive levels of trim. This engine was rated at 83 kilowatts (111 hp) (DIN) at 5,200 rpm for power, and 168 newton metres (124 ft·lbf) (DIN) at 4,000 rpm torque.
T, Ti, and TRX versions received a 2.4 litre KA24E inline-four. This engine produced 96 kilowatts (129 hp) (DIN) at 5,600 rpm and 189 newton metres (139 ft·lbf) (DIN) at 2,800 rpm. Fitted with electronic concentrated control system (ECCS) for precise MPI fuel injection, the 2.4 litre also featured ignition timing control with SOHC and three valves per cylinder (two intake, one exhaust).