Reuploading this car because a) its previous post has been ruined by the forum transition b) i’m updating it for the Buyers Guide and c) it’s one of my favorite cars and I wanted some better photos of it
1982 Erin Nasaro X 3.3
With Erin barely making a profit and in dire need of a car to reinvent the company, they launched the Nasaro, aimed to reinvent their image.
Having been in development since the end of the seventies, the mid-engined coupe was aimed at taking on the low to mid ranged sports car market by offering a vehicle that was quick, well built and drove fantastically.
The Nasaro’s key strength was its chassis; a steel-aluminium monocoque, with reinforcements to improve both rigidity and safety. It was exceptionally light, very well balanced and had a very low centre of gravity.
Then, there were the engines. Erin aimed to cater for everyone with an entry level 2.0 Turbo (that would later be used on the Merna X), a smooth 2.6 V6, and then, there was the Nasaro’s trump card; the brand new XTune 3.3l V6, an engine that would become synonymous with Erin’s performance vehicles. Producing 240 bhp, it gave the Nasaro X a phenomenal power to weight ratio, given that it weighed just under 1.1 tons.
Today, the Nasaro is regarded as one of Erin’s greatest cars, not only saving the company - over 70,000 were built between 1981 and 1990 - but defining Erin’s 80’s period. The styling was very influential on their other sports car, the Scarlet, and the tail lights design was used on every vehicle they made up until 1992. Meanwhile, a modified Group A version of this competed across the world between 1984 and 1989, being so successful at one point that the rules were adjusted to limit its superiority over rival cars. Resale values today are also very high and still rising, with an original Nasaro X worth over £50000 today.
A variant of this car competed in Round 5 of the Car Shopping Round.
If this car were a song, it’d be Life’s What You Make It by Talk Talk
