Nissan Silvia
The Nissan Silvia is the series of small sports cars produced by Nissan. Versions of the Silvia have been marketed as the 200SX or 240SX for export, with some export versions being sold under the Datsun brand.
The Gazelle was the twin-model of Silvia sold in Japan at different dealerships for the S110 and S12 generations; the Gazelle name was also used in Australia for the S12 generation. For the S13 generation in Japan, the Gazelle was replaced with the 180SX, which was a hatchback model of the Silvia with pop-up headlights that was also sold as the 200SX and 240SX for export purposes.
CSP311
In 1962, Albrecht Goertz was working as a consultant for BMW, having created the BMW 507, and saw the potential of Japanese manufacturers. Yamaha had created the Technical Research Institute to develop their own sports car in 1959, and had built the YX30 sports car. As Yamaha had a working relationship with Nissan, work began on project A550X, but at some point the project fell apart and work was cancelled. Kazuo Kimura and Fumio Yoshida were both working on Project A550X and when the professional relationship between Nissan and Goertz ended in 1964, the work on the project contributed to the Silvia.The Nissan Silvia CSP311 made its public debut at the Tokyo Motor Show in September 1964 as the "Datsun Coupé 1500". The introductory model was a hand-built coupé based on the Fairlady platform. The CSP311 was powered by the 1.6 L Nissan R series engine. The engine was equipped with twin SU carburetors. Due to being nearly entirely hand made, only 554 were produced, mainly in 1965, before production stopped in 1968. Most of the vehicles remained in Japan; however, 49 examples were exported to Australia and another 10 went to other countries. 4 were also developed with a LHD interior for export to Europe, where they were displayed at events and shows.
In December 1965, Nissan provided the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department with 2 CSP311 Silvias for highway patrol use. These were modified in various ways, but the engine remained standard. The CSP311 patrol car was the first Japanese high-performance patrol car, chosen due to being the fastest production car in Japan at the time with a top speed of 165 km/h, and due to its disc brakes giving it good stopping power.
S10
The S10 was the first mass-produced Silvia built on the all-new S platform, intended as Nissan's compact, rear-wheel-drive, sporty car platform. Japanese versions were exclusive to Nissan Japanese dealerships called Nissan Prince Store along with the larger C110 Skyline. The S10 featured less "traditional" lines than similar offerings from rivals, sharing a common appearance with the larger Skyline. Initially, the S10 was intended to be powered by a rotary engine, however this idea was scrapped due to the oil crises of the 1970s. The S10 was based on the Datsun Sunny Coupe.In the small number of export markets where it was available, this generation was sold as the Datsun 180SX. In the US it was the 200SX, reflecting the larger engine used there. During the 4-year lifespan of the S10/S11, over 145,000 units were produced until production stopped in 1979.
Japan
In Japan, the S10, officially named "New Silvia" was initially fitted with a 1.8 L L18S straight-four engine, which it shared with the Datsun 610/Bluebird 180B. Maximum power is at 6,000 rpm, sufficient for top speeds from depending on which of the three transmissions were fitted: four-speed or five-speed manual, or a three-speed automatic. The Japanese version featured Nissan NAPS emission control technology at its introduction. In 1976, the S10 received its first upgrade; the new version met new, tighter emissions restrictions and brought with it a change of the model name from S10 to S11. The 1976 update also included the new Type LSE top trim level which got a new L18E engine with electronic fuel injection instead of the carburetor. In 1977, the S11 received upgrades including interior upgrades, a body-colored front grille, new wheels, new hubcaps, new rubber bumper corners, a new trim level "Type-G" and more optional parts and colors.North America
The S10 was exported in 1976 to the North American market as the Datsun 200SX, incorporating the larger-displacement 2.0 L L20B. This model in North America was affixed with the mandated bumpers, a new fascia and a LHD interior. The Datsun-200SX was initially sold with an MSRP of US$4,399, equivalent to US$23,000 today, making it a relatively cheap car for the time. There are official photos of a trim level called the Datsun 200SX/E which had window louvers, stripes, and a bodykit, however it appears to have never been produced.Its success in both markets was limited, most buyers opting for the Celica over what was considered the more mundane S-Chassis. The car had a drivetrain similar to the popular 510, but with leaf springs fitted at the rear, rather than the 510's independent suspension.
Even though the standard car had poor handling, Paul Newman built and raced a 1977 Datsun 200SX in the 1978 IMSA Class C where it won 19 out of 22 races.
S110
This iteration of the Silvia, available as a 2-door hardtop coupe and a new bodystyle 3-door hatchback. The Japanese market version of the hatchback was called the Gazelle and was exclusive to Nissan Store locations sold alongside the Fairlady Z, while the coupe body style Silvia remained exclusive to Nissan Prince Store locations alongside the Skyline. Its sharp-edged styling was shared with the new Nissan Leopard sedan and coupé, also exclusive to Nissan Store.Like the previous generation, the S110 Silvia was uniquely progressive in that it was originally intended to feature a rotary engine, designed and built by Nissan. The resulting unit was fairly unreliable, and forestalled production. Coincidentally, this Silvia shares its chassis code with the Mazda Cosmo, the first Japanese production car to feature a rotary engine. The chassis was shared with the B310 Nissan Sunny and the larger A10 Nissan Violet platform.
The car was redesigned shortly before it was released and the stillborn Wankel power plant was replaced by a line of twin-plug conventional piston engines from the new Z-series range. These included the Z20 and the turbocharged and later the fuel-injected Z18ET, although the latter of the two was only available to the Japanese domestic market and after the mid-life facelift. This took place in late May 1981 and included new bumpers and a reworked front design. Albeit a sporting design, the Turbo model received largely the same chassis as regular models and did not have any kind of turbocharger boost indicator. At the time of the facelift, the DOHC FJ20-engined RS model was also introduced.
Gazelle
Nissan rebadged the Silvia as the Gazelle coupé and hatchback so that Nissan's different dealership networks in Japan could all carry their own variants of the model. There are minor cosmetic differences between the two cars such as grille pattern and taillight lenses. Gazelle was treated as a more exclusive model, while the Silvia was the base and sporty models.North America
The Silvia continued to be sold as the 200SX in North America, with either the two-door coupé or the three-door liftback bodywork. It was originally powered by the 2.0 L inline-four L20B engine, although in 1980 California-market cars received the twin-plug Z20 NAPS-Z inline-four of the same displacement. From the 1981 model year, this became the only engine available to the 200SX. Power is, channeled through a five-speed manual or a three-speed automatic and coupled with the H165 rear axle. For 1982 the 200SX was facelifted and gained the 2.2-liter Z22E engine coupled with the sturdier H190 rear axle. This model produces SAE at 5200 rpm. There were no significant changes for 1983 and these were sold well into the 1984 model year, as the S12 did not appear until February 1984.The top model was the luxurious SL, which received a remote opening hood, trunk, and gas tank lid, more adjustable seats, and a removable glass skyroof. The hatchback model received sportier trim, while the notchback coupé focused more on luxury.
240RS
This generation saw the introduction of the Nissan 240RS, a coupe fitted with the 2.4-liter DOHC FJ24 engine. About 200 road going examples were built between 1983 and 1985 for homologation purposes, its production extending the end of the S110 itself. The resulting machine became Nissan's official rally car in the World Rally Championship from 1983 to 1985, with its best result a second-place finish in the 1983 New Zealand Rally.Nissan also briefly competed with the regular Silvia: in 1982 Nissan confusingly homologated it as a bodystyle variant of the Violet under the name Datsun Violet GTS. This model used the same twin cam LZ20B engine as was installed in late competition variants of the Violet; the model had already been raced as a Silvia at the 1981 Safari Rally. The Violet GTS' first outing was at the 1982 Rallye de Portugal, where team leader Timo Salonen failed to finish after the suspension broke.
Best result for the Silvia-based Violet GTS was in the 1982 Rally New Zealand when Salonen finished 4th.
S12
The S12 was produced from August 1983 to 1989, with revisions to the exterior trim in 1986. It used retractable pop-up headlights and was sold in two configurations — a coupé and a hatchback. The hatchback version bore some heavy resemblance to the 3-door liftback versions of the Toyota Corolla Levin and Sprinter Trueno AE86.A number of different engines were equipped in the S12 chassis, depending on geographic market and production year, with an additional change in available engines again with the mid-cycle facelift. The NAPS system was carried over on the CA20E which replaced the Z engines of the S110 in North America. A CA18ET 1.8l turbo engine with ECCS was added for SE trims, Certain US trims had the S12 equipped with an optional VG30E V6 engine, also shared by the 300ZX. The FJ20 was replaced with the CA18DET in the Mk2 revision in markets where it was offered.
On the original, pre-facelift model, the bumpers featured matte-finish raised surfaces, and sides featured half-inch rubstripping. Cars featured a honeycomb radiator grille, and long corner lights. The RS-X trim in Japan and Europe received a hood bulge accent to accommodate the oversized dimensions of the FJ20E/ET engine, and featured a faux front vent with monogram ; In North America, the 1984 Turbo came with a "TURBO" monogrammed hood bulge accent, although all subsequent North American Mark I hoods were flat regardless of trim. In some markets, the 1984 and 1985 could be had with a foam rubber deck spoiler. In 1986 the foam rubber deck spoiler was changed for a fiberglass version with an integrated third brake light. Some hatchbacks and all Turbo models came with ground effects, as did the RS-X coupés These had a combination of plastic mudflaps and accommodating foam rubber sideskirts, as well as a foam rubber lower deflection lip. 1984 year foam rubber sideskirts featured the "NISSAN" monogram.