Mazda3Club.com : The Original Mazda3 Forum - Driving Impression: Nissan Micra 350SR

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Here's a quick automotive cookery lesson. For the basic ingredients you'll need a standard Nissan Micra 1.4 SX and the 3.5-litre V6 engine normally used in the Murano cross-over. Take the Micra and remove its engine, gearbox, ancillaries and the entire interior save the dashboard. Under the now empty bonnet install a fuel tank and a large radiator borrowed from the nearest Almera, Nissan America's mid-range family saloon. Next, gently remove your motorsport-tuned V6 from its packaging and bolt into the space normally provided by the Micra's boot. Attach the engine to a gearbox from the fiery Altima SE-R and leave to stand. When suitably chilled, install a web of tubing to the inside of the shell to create a strong roll cage and add two racing seats complete with five-point harnesses for good measure. At each corner of the car, remove wheel and suspension components and replace with units from Nissan's most sporting car, the 350Z. Finally, dress the Micra with wide arches, deep bumpers, extra air intakes and a striking colour scheme and voila, you have transformed your Nissan Micra 1.4 SX into the Nissan Micra 350SR. Step back, relax and admire your hard work. Then, suitably rested, jump into the driver's seat, punch the starter button and enjoy.

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far-fetched fantasy? No, this is exactly what RML - a company set up by Ray Mallock, a man with Le Mans and BTCC race pedigree - was asked to do by Nissan. The Micra 350SR started life as a concept car to celebrate Nissan's racing heritage, but reached road-going reality when Nissan's Japanese design director decided he wanted one to drive around in. Although the mad Micra will never set for the showroom floor, top bods at Nissan would love to see a one-make series championship with 20 350SRs hooning around tracks across Europe. RML rose to the challenge and has built one track-ready example, and I'm here to drive it.

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Now, I'll admit I've not got a great deal of track experience. My inaugural track outing involved a Renault Megane 225 and a trip across a rather large gravel trap, and my second try was on a little twisty French circuit surrounded by acres of open run-off. This time, I'm at Cadwell Park - a track described by some as a mini Nurburgring. This daunting circuit has a flurry of long, fast curves, some very tight bends and one rather nasty hairpin. And while I'm used to sedately-driven Micras with BSM cones on the roof, this one's a totally different beast. This Micra packs an insane 306bhp, which rockets it to 60mph in under five seconds and on to a bonkers top speed of 150mph. Mirror, signal, manoeuvre? I don't think so...

Michael Mallock, Ray's son and an accomplished racer, will accompany me. He's given me some advice on how to emerge from Cadwell in one piece. "You must remember to come off the brakes before turning in to a corner," he tells me as I get strapped in, "otherwise this thing has a tendency to flip itself round."

Now, I'll admit I've not got a great deal of track experience. My inaugural track outing involved a Renault Megane 225 and a trip across a rather large gravel trap, and my second try was on a little twisty French circuit surrounded by acres of open run-off. This time, I'm at Cadwell Park - a track described by some as a mini Nurburgring. This daunting circuit has a flurry of long, fast curves, some very tight bends and one rather nasty hairpin. And while I'm used to sedately-driven Micras with BSM cones on the roof, this one's a totally different beast. This Micra packs an insane 306bhp, which rockets it to 60mph in under five seconds and on to a bonkers top speed of 150mph. Mirror, signal, manoeuvre? I don't think so...

Michael Mallock, Ray's son and an accomplished racer, will accompany me. He's given me some advice on how to emerge from Cadwell in one piece. "You must remember to come off the brakes before turning in to a corner," he tells me as I get strapped in, "otherwise this thing has a tendency to flip itself round."

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One lap down, two to go. I treat the Micra with care around the course; threading it gingerly through the incidental right-hander from the first lap, even ending up getting passed by paltry 110bhp Micra 160SRs through the corners. But with over 300bhp, the Micra 350SR is a little bit of a handful. Because of the lack of weight over the front wheels there is very little feel through the steering wheel and Michael is quick to chastise me before I attempt any lurid powerslides through the long sweeping corners. I'm more than happy to return to the paddock with the car in one piece, than to make my mark (literally) on the track.

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Once stopped, we swap seats and Michael takes to the track to show me how it's really done. Without a doubt, he's a lot faster than me, lighting up the rear tyres and filling the cabin with the sweet smell of burnt rubber on the faster corners, blipping the throttle on the downshifts and showing a degree of control that comes from knowing a car inside out. But for anyone who's had little experience with it, the Micra 350SR can bite - very hard.

With the demise of the Clio V6 it would be nice to see another mid-engined V6 supermini on the road, but unfortunately this Micra's too extreme to go into production. But as a lesson in automotive cookery, the Micra 350SR is the full Gordon Ramsay experience - complete with multiple expletives.

by: Tom Bird

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