At the 31st annual International Z Car Convention (ZCON), which is being held this week in Atlanta, Georgia, Nissan will display four historic vehicles.
This rare Datsun Fairlady Sport was one of 217 built. The SPL213 Fairlady was mechanically based on the Datsun 223 truck. This memorable model was the first car in the “Fairlady” series. It was named after the Broadway musical “My Fair Lady,” which took America by storm in the late 1950s and was beloved by Nissan Motors Chairman Mr. Katsuji Kawamata when he saw the play in 1958.
At the 31st annual International Z Car Convention (ZCON), which is being held this week in Atlanta, Georgia, Nissan will display four historic vehicles.
The Datsun 411 was produced from 1965 to 1967 and featured a body designed by Italy’s famed Pininfarina studio. It shared its 96-horsepower 1.6-liter inline 4-cylinder engine with the sporty Datsun 1600 Roadster and featured standard front disc brakes and 13-inch wheels and tires. Car and Driver magazine, in its May 1967 review said, “From what we were able to deduce, it handles creditably well, though its makers have a lot to learn about the subtleties of shock absorber calibration.”
The answer to the Jeep, the second-generation Datsun Patrol was sold in the U.S. for a short period of time. This generation featured a rugged leaf-spring suspension on a ladder-style frame, with a robust 4×4 system. Overseas, Patrols were used as safari conquerors, along with providing the base vehicle for fire engines, vans and ambulances.
This is a modified version of the legendary “Hakosuka” Skyline (“Boxy Skyline”) – a tribute GT-R, privately owned. Introduced in 1969, this generation of GT-R, with its DOHC 24-valve 6-cylinder S20 powerplant, cemented the model as a legend, with 52 race victories in Japanese touring car competition, in the 1960s and 1970s.
When the Datsun 411 was replaced by the Datsun 510 in 1968, the Italian-designed body was gone but the blueprint was set for all future Nissan sports sedans. The Datsun 510 became known as nearly unbeatable on the race track and a popular alternative to European sports sedans in garages all over America. The 510 was named by Road & Track magazine as “one of the most important cars of the 20th Century.”
1961 Datsun Fairlady Sport (SPL213)
This rare Datsun Fairlady Sport was one of 217 built. The SPL213 Fairlady was mechanically based on the Datsun 223 truck. This memorable model was the first car in the “Fairlady” series. It was named after the Broadway musical “My Fair Lady,” which took America by storm in the late 1950s and was beloved by Nissan Motors Chairman Mr. Katsuji Kawamata when he saw the play in 1958.
1969 Datsun Patrol
The answer to the Jeep, the second-generation Datsun Patrol was sold in the U.S. for a short period of time. This generation featured a rugged leaf-spring suspension on a ladder-style frame, with a robust 4×4 system. Overseas, Patrols were used as safari conquerors, along with providing the base vehicle for fire engines, vans and ambulances.
This is a modified version of the legendary “Hakosuka” Skyline (“Boxy Skyline”) – a tribute GT-R, privately owned. Introduced in 1969, this generation of GT-R, with its DOHC 24-valve 6-cylinder S20 powerplant, cemented the model as a legend, with 52 race victories in Japanese touring car competition, in the 1960s and 1970s.
1960 Datsun 1200 Sedan, a version of the first passenger car sold by Nissan in the U.S.
1965 Datsun 320 Truck, with 60-horsepower 4-cylinder engine
The Datsun 411 was produced from 1965 to 1967 and featured a body designed by Italy’s famed Pininfarina studio. It shared its 96-horsepower 1.6-liter inline 4-cylinder engine with the sporty Datsun 1600 Roadster and featured standard front disc brakes and 13-inch wheels and tires. Car and Driver magazine, in its May 1967 review said, “From what we were able to deduce, it handles creditably well, though its makers have a lot to learn about the subtleties of shock absorber calibration.”
When the Datsun 411 was replaced by the Datsun 510 in 1968, the Italian-designed body was gone but the blueprint was set for all future Nissan sports sedans. The Datsun 510 became known as nearly unbeatable on the race track and a popular alternative to European sports sedans in garages all over America. The 510 was named by Road & Track magazine as “one of the most important cars of the 20th Century.”
