In the “What were they thinking” file, under Nissan (it’s a big tab, that one), there lies a curious AWD contraption with a strange name. It’s not quite as disturbing as the Toyota Will IV or as hilarious as the Mitsuoka Viewt, but it sort of defies common sense the way only JDM vehicles can. But before I could put it under the CC microscope, a specimen was needed.
I had promised myself that I’d catch it (but release it back into the wild) in due course, and so, one fine day, I did. Very soon after, I also caught a green Forza. No, that’s not a disease, though these days, you could be forgiven for thinking it was. But let’s start this in order of (bizarre) appearance.
In October 1993, Nissan displayed a prototype on their stand at the Tokyo Motor Show that met with overwhelming public approval. It was a cross between a small saloon and an SUV, draped in a boxy body with a touch of the neo-retro style that had just started to become popular. The Rasheen craze was born. The company now had to figure how to capitalize on this sudden fandom: prototypes and styling exercises displayed at these venues are not usually destined to turn into production models, but sometimes, one must strike while the iron is hot.
Nissan turned to Takada, a Yokohama-based firm that had grown from being an auto parts supplier to a sort of Japanese equivalent of Karmann or Heuliez. If you had a special version of a car you wanted made in low volumes, Takada could do that for you – they worked with Nissan on the Be-1 and a host of other models (the similarly retro-themed Pao and Figaro (above), but also the Silvia and March convertibles), but also worked for Isuzu, Mitsubishi and Subaru. By December 1994, the production version of the Nissan Rasheen was unleashed.
The basis for the Rasheen was a peculiar mélange of the B13 Sunny / Sentra platform and the N14 Pulsar’s AWD drivetrain. Some English-language sites describe the Rasheen as a derivative of the B14 Sunny, but the Japanese sources all agree that despite the model’s alphanumeric “RNB14” designation, there are no B14 Sunny bones underneath that unusual skin.
Engine-wise, the Rasheen started out with a modest 1.5 litre mill providing 105 PS. This was mated to a 4-speed automatic or a 5-speed manual – the former being the favoured option by most Japanese buyers in this class by that point in time. In January 1997, the Rasheen got a minor facelift (new grille, clear indicator lenses, airbags and ABS) and gained access to the optional 1.8 litre engine, giving it 125 PS.
Our first feature car is one of those facelift cars. The external spare tyre also makes this a higher-grade “Type II” model. “Type III” cars have a bullbar to make the front end more macho. Base trim “Type I” and “Type IB” cars lack these implements and tend to favour relative exterior discretion coupled with optional interior luxury, such as wood paneling.
The design of the Rasheen came out of the same inspiration as the Pao, Figaro and S-Cargo pike cars. These were all penned by Naoki Sakai – a man who almost single-handedly launched the ‘90s neo-retro craze in Japan and the wider world. The Sakai designs have something its imitators usually lacked: they were retro in their use of chrome and funky grille textures, but combined this with actual innovation.
Nowhere is this more evident than in the Rasheen, in my opinion. It was boxy and utilitarian to reflect its drivetrain (though very low for a 4×4), but it also had a dash of madness mixed in to conquer the fickle hearts of the JDM. So far, so good. But now comes the big all-caps “HOWEVER” side of the argument: what is the deal with that face? The previous iterations of Sakai’s neo-retro cars had round headlamps, but with the Rasheen, things went a bit composite – and in a very strange way.
The Wartburg 353 (known as Knight in the UK, for some unfathomable reason) has been widely named as a possible source of inspiration. And indeed, there seems to be something in the Rasheen that smacks of Eisenach, but this was never acknowledged by Sakai, as far as I know. Japanese sources I’ve perused on the Rasheen do not reference the Wartburg, as it is not a car they are at all familiar with, I assume. Or is it that an East-German muse is too awkward for them to even contemplate? Using English, Italian or American design cues is something of a specialty in the Japanese automotive world, but the line is usually drawn on the Western side of the Iron Curtain.
The putative Wartburg connection only concerns the front of the Rasheen. The rest of it has no particular relation to anything designed by a planned economy, nor any other body politic for that matter. The only fly in the ointment, to fully appreciate the rest of the car’s design, is that spare wheel. It’s completely in keeping with the AWD nature of the beast for sure, but it does get in the way. Anyway, it’s impossible not to get distracted by the gobbledygook Engrish Nissan felt compelled to add on the cover.
Fortunately, I caught this early model “Type I” a while back. The contrast with the front end is quite startling. The square frenched taillights seem to belong to a different vehicle and do not scream retro in the least. Neither does the “Rasheen” script, come to that. It’s as if the designer changed his mind by the time he got to the rear end. I’m sure we’ve all been there.
Here’s the front end of the same car, with the original grille design and amber turn signals. The mid-life 1997 refresh was quite mild, as is usually the case with Japanese cars. But a far more radical Rasheen variant was waiting in the wings, ready to pounce on the unsuspecting public.
In October 1997, Nissan displayed the Rasheen Forza at the motor show, though the model only went on sale in April 1998. There were a lot of new external features to the model, but there were some differences underneath, too. The main one was a 2-litre SR engine, good for 140 PS. Just like the 1.8 litre Rasheen, the 2-litre Forza was only available with a 4-speed automatic transmission.
The interior was left mostly alone, as far as I can tell. Seems the HVAC controls were given a bit of a shakeup, but other than that, it was just a case of same same. On the outside, though, the Forza did have a few distinguishing characteristics.
The front end is the obvious one, with that butch grille and those geeky quads. The rear of the car was just as transformed, with a different C-pillar / rear window arrangement that gave the profile a bit more dynamism. The tailgate and rear lights remained identical to the Rasheen, but at the rear wheel cover was unfortunately spared another Google Translate haiku about bosoms and wood. Missed opportunity there, Nissan. But redesigns and extra bits have consequences.
The Forza’s beefier side cladding edged it over the 170cm width limit that had allowed the Rasheen to keep within the mid-size car tax bracket, so it was subject to a heavier tax than its sibling, which may have hurt sales. This was all rendered moot pretty quickly, as a sinking Nissan were rescued in 1999 by then-White Khight in Shining Armour Carlos Ghosn, who proceeded to wield his ax left and right within the plethoric JDM range.
Though it had a dedicated following, the low-volume Rasheen/Forza duo was up for the chop, which occurred in the summer of 2000. Just under 73,000 were made in six years. Not sure how many Forzas are included in this tally, but those only last two years, so they must be relatively rare. The bigger Nissan X-Trail, which replaced the Rasheen in 2000, was far more successful and widely distributed, but what it made up in sales, it lacked in quirkiness.
Japanese sources agree that, for a 20-plus-year-old vehicle, the Rasheen is still sought after. Some have even ended up in Australia, New Zealand and the UK, so this is another oddball JDM car gone global after the fact. A face only its mother could love? Maybe not. Still don’t know what the heck that name is supposed to mean, though.
Related post:
1994-2000 Nissan Rasheen – The World’s First Four-Door CUV Was An Homage To The Wartburg 353, by PN
I have always really liked these…and there are at least a half dozen running around the town I live in. There’s just something about the styling.
An inspiration for the Subaru Forester?
I actually saw 1 of these on I-81 in Virginia, headed north, a few winters ago. These really are small, but then, so was a contemporary Sentra.
I definitely see some Forester in the green Forza (hey wait, those names are almost identical!).
The car you saw on I-81 was undoubtedly coming from Duncan Imports in Christiansburg, which is a major JDM retailer in a somewhat unlikely location. I’d love to visit their facility one day.
I have always really liked these…and there are at least a half dozen running around the town I live in. There’s just something about the styling. It looks clean, no-nonsense, and practical. Definitely Wartburg influence. And In Japanese, “Rashin” is a compass needle…I assume they were going for the intrepid traveler vibe.
Sought after really, youd have to wonder why its a Sentra Pulsar Sunny in a silly suit, some have escaped the JDM and washed up in New Zealand there are very few of these odd balls that havent, Have you seen a Bassuro yet also by Nissan for no obvious reason a mate has one on his lawn runs and drives yours for $800,
Trust me we have a varied automotive landscape even with lockdown in effect and very little traffic on the roads its still interesting I took my Hillman shopping yesterday to buy some milk perfectly permited you are allowed to get food in they dont specify what you have to drive which is great, waiting at a traffic light for thevgreen a couple in a late 20s Buick roadster pulled up next to me awesome they waved I waved back, on the way home I followed a mazda van Ive not seen before fresh import black very shiny like its just come off the car lot very cool rear lights, I’ll wait for Tatra to spot one in Japan shoot it and investigate it so I know what it is.
I too caught a Rasheen Forza (and a regular Rasheen) while over there and the Forza puzzled me until now. Mine was in a gated compound so I couldn’t get close enough to see the badging beyond thinking it sure looked like sort of a Rasheen but enough bits were different so…. Thanks for filling in that blank! I also never knew that the Rasheen had further development beyond the first generation which I first saw an example of in The Lane Museum’s basement but like you I am somewhat fascinated by them in general.
Another great chronicle of JDM goodness — they just keep coming!
Looking at these Rasheens head-on, it seems to me that the seats are unusually close together, given the car’s width. I wonder if that’s really the case (i.e., the body was given a wide design though the interior is narrow), or if it’s just an illusion provided by the styling that clearly aims to accentuate width? The interior pics don’t make the seats seem terribly close together, so possibly it’s just an illusion. Or maybe I’ve just become dizzy from looking at too many Rasheen pictures.
Either way, fascinating story about a car I’d never heard of.
Would have loved to have seen a 4-door three-box saloon variant.
In retrospect, the problem with Nissan’s “plethoric JDM lineup) wasn’t that it was plethoric, but that it was JDM. Kudos to pre-Ghosn Nissan for having the guts to build it, but if they’d had the guts to export it widely, particularly the Forza they’d have added at least another zero to the 73,000-unit total and a second generation would’ve been a given.
The standard car’s rear window treatment looks better than the Forza version. The unusual “poetry” on the spare tyre cover seem to have been the norm, because I have seen the same thing on early JDM RAV4s and Daihatsu Terioses. I always thought either the X-Trail or Qashqai replaced this model in Nissan’s range. It’s similar in spirit to the first Honda HR-V that came out around the same time if I am not mistaken.
Great finds.
There’s no way anyone is going to convince me that the Wartburg 353 front end isn’t the obvious source of the Rasheen’s front end. There are no coincidences like this; it’s blatantly obvious. Way too much similarity.
Let’s not forget that Sakai’s Figaro was very heavily influenced by the very obscure German Gutbrod Superior. He obviously cast a wide net looking for inspirations, and I don’t see what the Iron Curtain would have to do with that, since it no longer existed when he designed the Rasheen.
I’m a big fan of the Rasheen. Not only is it arguably the very first CUV, but its boxy and clean styling have held up very well. A bit like the first compact Cherokee.
Not a fan of the Forza, though.
It really is as if Sakai created the Toyota version of an East European sedan. The awkward frankness, minus the panel gaps, rust, and agricultural engines.
I don’t know that going onto the web and announcing you’ve caught an awful Rasheen, which you’re actively sharing, is not something that might be susceptible to misinterpretation by the authorities in these times, but I salute your bravery.
Why would a designer rifle through history to style a car named after castle-city of warts, especially when the product wasn’t much less attractive than the name?
The Japanese are just odd in certain choices of style and of words.
Anyway, I’m off in my Renault Avantime to have a beer with my old pal Roisin.
Why didn’t Nissan bring this to the USA instead of the Cube? I think this would have been a huge hit……
I don’t think I’d ever seen one in Australia until about six weeks ago, when I came across this one while walking home from work. Not sure what’s up with the hiking boot motif—because ‘ft’ is short for feet? Google wasn’t able to enlighten me.
The all-important spare wheel cover text.
I like the detail of the sole on the boots saying Nissan, I wonder if you got a free pair if you bought one?
Victorian plates and the scenery suggests its in Melbourne? That’s where I am too, but I haven’t been as lucky as you in spotting it. Gotta keep my eyes open! 😀
Kew 👍🏼
(Not somewhere particularly well-known for its JDM vehicles; however, further up the same street lived a nice first-gen Stagea. Haven’t seen either for a long time, though.)
At first glance the Rasheen looks a bit like a scaled down Rayton Fissore Magnum (LaForza in the US) and the whole package seems like a Japanese take on the Matra Rancho. Something that looks rugged and outdoorsy while being cheap to buy and run because it’s just an ordinary small car underneath. I’m sure this appealed to the kind of Japanese who wore LL Bean boots and Filson pants in the wilds of central Yokohama
Count me as one that doesn’t like the 4 round headlight set up. While I’m not totally in love with the Aero Lamps the last one and its grille is my favorite.
Now if they had done a 4 round reminiscent of the early 70’s Nissans like the 510 then I think it would have worked better than any of the versions they did sell.
I still haven’t seen one in Aus but I know they’re out there.
I absolutely love the way these look. They’re just so… clean. Boxy and plain yet so very memorable.
The Forza is a series of nasty, unwanted changes though. Hard pass.
I do wonder how these would have sold in the nascent soft-roader markets in Australia, the US, etc.
Is the British market name Wartburg Knight related to the steering wheel centre of the previous model Wartburg which featured a Knight with shield, probably a reference to the Wartburg castle the cars are named after? Maybe the importer thought of the name before realising the Knight didn’t feature on the 353.
A neighbour had a Wartburg Knight in the early 70s I always thought it looked a lot nicer than our family Austin 1800 & Austin Maxi.