Nissan Cefiro A31: the budget Skyline nobody told you about
The Cefiro A31 rolled out in 1988 as a luxury sedan. Four doors, comfortable ride, the kind of car a Japanese salaryman drove to work. It also came with an RB20DET — the same inline-six turbo family that powers Skylines — rear-wheel drive, multi-link rear suspension, and factory LSD options. Nissan basically gave it the same mechanical DNA as their sports cars and wrapped it in a sensible suit. The Japanese drift scene figured this out early. While everyone was fighting over S-chassis prices, A31s were sitting in used lots for next to nothing, waiting for someone to weld the diff and show up sideways.
RB20DET and the swap potential that changes everything
Stock, the RB20DET makes about 205hp. That's enough to learn on, enough to get sideways, and honestly enough to have fun at grassroots events without touching anything. The multi-link rear suspension handles well, the longer wheelbase keeps transitions stable, and the steering is responsive enough to not fight you.
The swap that changes the math
Here's where the A31 gets interesting: the engine bay accepts RB25DET and RB26DETT swaps with minimal drama. Same engine family, similar mounts, straightforward wiring. An RB25DET swap puts you around 250hp stock with room to grow. An RB26DETT build — the GT-R engine in a sedan that cost a fraction of a GT-R — can push past 500hp. Drift teams have been doing this for years because the math is simple: Skyline engine performance, Cefiro price tag.
Four doors, low price, and the parts you actually need
The A31 is a genuine budget alternative to S-chassis and Skyline drift cars. Prices are lower because fewer people know about it and four-door sedans don't get the same hype tax. That's an advantage, not a drawback. The four doors mean you can fit a passenger (or a spare tire and tools for the event). The chassis responds to the usual drift modifications — coilovers, angle kits, weight reduction — and shares enough Nissan parts-bin components that you're not hunting for unobtanium. Finding clean examples outside Japan takes patience. They're out there, but the A31 never had the global distribution that S-chassis cars did. If you can find one, though, you get RB power, rear-wheel drive, and a platform that punches way above its price point. It's the drift car for people who'd rather spend money on engine work than on the chassis itself.