(First Posted 9/1/2011. Updated 3/3/21 )
Although the Japanese in the ’50s copied liberally from the more advanced automakers in the West, by the early sixties that was starting to change, and quite noticably. An excellent example is the Datsun Fairlady/Sports (SPL 311). Although it looks a bit like a slightly cruder MGB imitation, it was designed before the British roadster and shown at the Tokyo Automobile Show in 1961, also before the MGB was first seen in public. That’s not to suggest that the MGB was a copy of the Fairlady; they were both designed in relative isolation and their main themes were both clearly influenced by Pininfarina, who had a consulting relationship to both firms.
Even if its styling was not as clean and elegant as the very timeless MGB, the Datsun Sports was a very competent sports car, made even more so by dropping a 135 hp SOHC 2 liter four in it in 1967, creating the semi-legendary Datsun Sports 2000. It vastly eclipsed the MGB’s performance. The Datsun Sports/Fairlady was just another example of the Japanese revolution taking place in the sixties and seventies.
Datsun’s interest in British-style sports cars goes back at least to 1952, with their first shot at it, the DC-3. And no less than the legendary Yutaka Katayama (“Mr. K”) spearheaded this little 860cc 25hp four-seat roadster, the first attempt to bring a bit of open-top flair if not exactly sporty performance to post-war Japan (top speed was 43 mph). In his own words:
“By the time of the first Tokyo Motor Show in 1952, in my role as Nissan’s Advertising Manager I arranged for a sports car body to be designed and manufactured by Yuichi Ohta. This body was to be attached to a Datsun truck chassis. This was the first sports model to be produced after the war by any Japanese company. Although this was largely my private project, Nissan agreed to build a production version, and this became officially named the Datsun Sports DC-3. One of the first production models is still proudly shown in the entrance hall of Nissan today.”
The DC-3 was a commercial flop, selling only fifty units, but the seeds of Datsun’s (and Mr. K’s) sports car program were planted.
And they sprouted again in the form of the S211 of 1959 (above). It’s similar to that of many others sports-car efforts of the fifties: a limited-production fiberglass body sitting on a frame, in this case again from a Datsun pickup. All of twenty of these were built. Sort of a Japanese Kaiser-Darrin, or 1953 Corvette. But Datsun was not deterred.
The next version. the SPL 212, appeared in 1960, and was the first to bear the Fairlady moniker, a reference to the popular Broadway show My Fair Lady. Stylistically similar to its predecessor, it now had a steel body, but still shared truck underpinnings including its 1189cc four. That mill had a decidedly Austin-ish look to it, fruit of Datsun’s license to build several of their models, and engines. These cars were built for export only, in two series, the later one now sporting 60 hp. These cars are very hot collector items, should you be so lucky as to stumble into one in a barn. Not too likely.
In 1958-1959, Nissan commissioned Mr. Hidehiro Iizuka to design an in-house prototype as an alternative to the concept created by Alpah Motors. Mr Iizuka was last in charge of the interior of the 310 Bluebird, and the Fairlady commission was a giant step for the designer.
Here’s the final product, in prototype form, shown at the 1961 Tokyo Auto Show.
That brings us to 1963, when the original version of our featured car went into production. The first series (1963 – 1965) were called Sports 1500, and borrowed the Cedric’s 1500 cc engine. And it no longer sat on pickup platforms, sharing its underpinnings with the Datsu 310 sedan. The definitive Sports 1600 appeared in 1965, and was built through 1970, until the 240Z/Fairlady replaced it. I’m not certain of the exact year of this one, but it lacks 1968’s side marker lights, so we’ll call it a ’67. That was a good year for sports cars anyway, the last before smog controls started to take their bite away.
The Datsun sports the unmistakable if somewhat invisible hand of Pininfarina. It is well know that the firm had a major hand in the styling of the 410 sedan, which appeared in 1964. And the similarities to the Fiat 1500 Spider/cabriolet (above) are too obvious.
But details, like on the front end are quite obviously not Pininfarina. If the Datsun had single vertical tail lights like the Fiat and and other PF cars of the time, it would reflect that influence more overtly.
But then that applies to the very clean MGB too (picture flipped for comparison), which too shows lots of Pininfarina influence, but is not directly credited to the firm (the MGB-GT’s roof and rear hatch are).
Lift up the Datsun’s hood, and it does look properly British there, with the dual SU carbs. The R16 engine was rated at 96 hp, which matched the MGB’s quite closely, even if it lacked a bit of the low-end punch the B’s bigger 1800 cc engine. But that was seriously rectified in 1967, when Datsun dropped in the 2000cc SOHC U20 motor, which was rated at 135 hp (150 hp with a competition package). Suddenly, the Datsun roadster was in a class of its own.
“Brrapp,; snick; brrapp, snick; brrapp, snick…” I remember vividly the description given to the 2000’s lusty engine and new five-speed stick by Car and Driver. Everyone swooned over it; there was no other roadster for the money that could touch it. The Datsun 2000 found its day in the sun, even if it was a bit short-lived.
I’m 99% certain this is a 1600, as only very few 2000s were imported in 1967, and by 1968 an unfortunate tall windshield was installed, in order to meet some ridiculous federal rule about a minimum area the wipers had to sweep. It was the only way the MGB beat the Datsun: it simply added a third wiper, and kept its handsome low windshield. The 1968 and up Datsuns looked like they were built for giraffes, or really tall folks.
But then this example does have a five speed transmission, which the 1600s did not have; probably a later upgrade. I didn’t have a chance to look under the hood. And that wood trim is an upgrade too.
The Datsun Sports enjoyed a successful career on the tracks, as part of Mr. K’s efforts to get the brand out in front of the kind of buyers he coveted. Bob Bondurant’s school had a fleet of these along with the 510s. It was an exciting time for Datsun, which reached their pinnacle with the 240Z.
Related CC reading:
Vintage R&T Road Test: 1967 Datsun 2000 Sports – “Abundantly More Powerful”
Curbside Classic: 1963 Datsun Fairlady 1500 (SP310) – The High Of The Beholder by T87
COAL: 1967 Datsun Sports 1600 • The First Car That Was Legally Mine by Steve Crutchfield
COAL #6: 1969 and 1970 Datsun 2000 Roadsters – Pint Sized Pocket Rockets by Ed Hardey
Gorgeous car! Always wanted one of these — a reliable faux-Brit sports car, what could be better? Plus it would be the perfect RV dinghy. 🙂
I knew I recognized that scoop, just couldn’t quite place it…
I bought a 66 1600 Fairlady roadster from a civilian tech rep when he left Tokyo in 68. I was lucky enough to be assigned to a small Air Force Squadron [AFCS] on North Camp Drake, an Army post, and spent 38 months of my 4 yr career there. I drove that car from one island to the other, all over Japan. It had a hardtop for the winter months, and that was our salvation on a 1970 winter trip to the Sapporo Snow Festival on the northern Island of Hokkaido, got caught in a blizzard for a week, and toward the last days only had sake and rice at a truck stop, sleeping on a concrete floor with about 30 truck drivers. I could write a book about that tour in Japan, when military pay was almost more than you could spend and a sports car that will forever live in my heart.
What a great car. Although these little roadsters are outside of my knee-jerk car love responses, I have always been fascinated by these little Datsuns. An attractive little car that sounds like a blast to drive. I find it interesting that nobody but Mazda has kept this candle burning.
Pray tell, what’s wrong with making a car for “really tall people?”
Nice writeup. Always liked these cars.
Speaking as a tall person, actually nothing, except that it really messed with the car’s original proportions.
I pick cars like I pick shoes: function over form, and fit first. Sure, I want you and everyone else to drive handsome cars I like to see, but that rarely happens anymore. My car gets experienced from the inside out. How’s the visibility, sideways and upwards? Can I wear a cowboy hat inside? Can I enter without ducking my head? Do I feel cramped inside?
Every car I’ve bought, from a Datsun 1600 to a New Beetle to two Saab 9000s to four GTIs, plus my current fleet of a Mercedes GLK and a Ford C-Max, passed these tests.
Me too, I don’t quite fit in the Miata.
Fascinating article – I never knew of those early cars.
For a year or so in the late 70’s I carpooled to work with a woman who had one of these. On nice days we’d take her car and on rainy days we’d take my Volvo 122S. The Datsun was a pure sports car experience without the reliability issues that seemed to plague the British and Italian marques. I drove it a few times, and while it wasn’t overly powerful, it felt zippy and nimble, and was a blast to drive.
Now that’s one very pretty car! That’s about all I can say about it, as I have never seen one. Come to think of it, I had never even heard of any Japanese car, and my introduction to the world of Asian imports was the green Datsun pickup I saw upon arriving in Marysville, CA, on my way to Beale AFB in November 1969 after basic training.
Very nice, indeed.
I’ve seen one of these around Pasadena, looking very rough (I’m hoping it’s a project car) but still going strong and apparently being very much enjoyed.
There is one of these listed on Ebay – a 69 2000 in northwest Ohio. It needs a fair amount of work, but looks like a good project. Crud, I have relatives near there. Must. Not. Bid.
Yes. You. MUST!
I have a neighbor with one of these. The first time I saw it, I thought it was an old Triumph. I see it occasionaly on the weekend… it’s missing a front fender from a little racing accident, but he still drives it.
It’s an interesting little car.
My brother-in-law was a big Datsun fan when he was younger (and sans wife & kids), and he still has two or three of these sitting under tarps in the back yard (where they have been for the past 20 years or so).
Will he ever restore them? That’s the $10,000 question, every time!
These cars are a cool alternative to the British stuff. I’ve heard that Adam Carolla runs a Bob Sharp preped 2000 roadster in vintage racing.
Rare car here but I saw one recently sans camera but I couldnt place the scoop yesterday .
An interesting sidebar is how Nissan’s marketing department was as lame as their engineering office was strong. “Fairlady”? What self-respecting young MAN is gonna buy something like that?
“Mr K” had noted that problem also, and fought with the home office while in the United States repeatedly over cars’ nomenclature. The original 240Z was supposed to wear the Fairlady moniker; one account reported that Mr. K just pried off the nameplate and called it, in shows and demonstrations, the 240Z. As that was the corporate platform name for it, he felt he could hardly be brought in for insubordination.
Nor is it, IMO, coincidental that Nissan’s slide down happened as Mr. K was recalled to Japan and retired. The Japanese firms understand engineering problems; but they seem, uniformly, to lack vision and passion.
The whole series was called FairLady in Japan we have em as used imports
Open air motoring in japan in the ’50’s and ’60’s was an assault on ones seances. The aroma of what were called huneybucket carts (transport by horse drawn carriages of human excriment) assailed the nose, as well as roadside fish stands. Fithy streets! Et al
The noise of continual horn blasting, ringing of thousands of bicycle bells, the Blair of store outdoor loud speakers. And then the very narrow streets teaming with swarming people.
In all I am surprised they made as many ‘sports cars’ as they did. But do understand the decades old popularity of cars like the Crown and Gloria.
Hard to believe it was once that way-It certainly isn’t anymore. It’s a first world country in every way-just like the US or Canada-wait…. I take that back-There’s some things they don’t have-like the crime.
Or lawyers
A beautiful little machine…
Beautiful car and in a very intriguing color. The taillight/reflector setup with the little fins reminds me of those on 1957-58 Dodges.
The look of the 1959 S211 exhibits some real live competition tires. It seems that Nissan perfected the donut tire design for all 4 wheels before we called them spare tires in the ’80s. Those tires just don’t fit on that vehicle. The donuts would look better.
It pre-dates the small 13-14″ wheels, so tires are somewhat readily available, but not the much taller original 80-profile. Probably a 4.00 or 4.50 wide tire, that is a pretty light car.
I used to have one. One of each, actually: the 1600 and the 2000. In 1988, I bought a ’68 2000 in a horrible green color. I rebuilt the engine and transmission in my living room. I added Webber side drafts that I could never get jetted quite right.
About that time, I found a white 1600 that looked much better with the short windshield. At first I planned to transplant the 2000 engine into the 1600 body, but the 1600 ran really well and sounded great and I kind of lost interest in the 2000.
Something about the sound of the engine, the feel of the non-assisted steering and breaks, and the fact that you had to double-clutch to shift down to second gear, made the car seem much faster than it really was. With the skinny 1960s tires and live axle, it would oversteer like crazy. Driving it was always an adventure.
I tried to recapture that experience with my 2001 Miata, which is much better in every measurable way but it was a real disappointment. Suspension mods helped, but it will never be as fun as my Datsun 1600.
I agree, part of the charm of the old cars is they don’t have so much grip as to take the fun to a dangerous realm, and usually the transition is not so quick.
I have a set of 5.60×15 crossply tyres for my Hillman originals so far Ive only driven it on 205/60×15 amd it corners beautifully Im going to swap them over one day and scare myself I remember driving those cars too fast on old tech tyres I lost a lot of mates that way.
This, yes! It’s one thing to “probe the limits” at 0.7 G, and quite another at 1.0 G. One is fun, but the other is terrifying, at best.
I’ve never been much of a “small car” guy, but I’ve always kind of liked these. I got the chance to drive one when I worked as a light-duty mechanic at a Beverly Hills Unocal station.
Quick, agile, and very responsive. And while the cabin was definitely tight for my 6’4″ frame, it wasn’t as bad as one would expect. With the Datsun 1600 and 2000 roadsters, they managed to capture all the fun and charm of the classic British and Italian roadsters of yore- without the headaches.
I had one of these in 1975. It was a ’67 1600 cc. It was a lot of fun to drive! It seemed to have a lot of “British” traits; it seemed to always need some sort of maintenance and the parts were sometimes very hard to find. One good thing about it though, is was very easy to work on, and was a good solid driving machine and a tremendous chick magnet, for a sophomore in high school!
I really enjoyed it a lot.
Jay
Just saw one of these in Melbourne last weekend, parked on the street with the top down. Looked absolutely mint, inside and out, and the same colour combo as the one wearing VA plates above. Gorgeous.
As I understand it, this car may have resembled the MGB, but with the 2.0-liter, its character was actually somewhere between a ‘B and a Sunbeam Tiger…
I got my big brothers 1962 datsun fairlady that car was so ugly it was beautiful!
I enjoyed this artical very much. My Father-in Law Hidehiro IIzuka designed this car at 27 years old in Tokyo in 1956. Fresh out of college his boss came to this young designer and said “Nissan needs a sports car”. And he went to work with charcoal pencils (His original sketches are so awesome). You can see these sketches on line if you google his name. The first showing of the “SP310” was a the Tokyo Auto Show from October 25th~ November 7th 1961. After he designed this car. Nissan offered to pay for his graduate degree and told him to pick any school he wanted to go to. He chose Chicago University. I asked him why Chicago, and he said because it’s where all the top designers from Bauhaus went after WWII. And yes….he was fascinated over European Sports Cars and wanted to capture the Spirit of compact power and styling for Japan. I met him when I was dating his daughter (We’re married now with two teen daughters in Southern California) back in 1988. He was living in La Jolla with his family and was President of the Nissan Design Center in La Jolla. There are several publications about Hirehiro Iizuka and his legacy with Nissan. He is retired now in Japan and is 81 years old. A fascinating Man.
Thank you for this insightful comment.
Hate to correct you on the great article but the roadster pictured in the advertisment with the girl is a 1969 High windshield roadster not 1967.You can really tell by the tear drop side markers on the front fender that were only on the 1969.
Thanks Dan
I was referring to the featured car, not the one in the ad. I can see why it might have been confusing, given how I wrote it.
once upon a time I had 47 Datsun roadsters at the same time so I’m fairly familiar with them…a small correction, the Datsun 1500 came out BEFORE the MGB, no calling it a copy please. I’m in recovery now and down under 25 of them which include Four 67.5 2000’s and the only prototype Datsun 1500 roadster known in existence with full documentation…all are available, I have buildings full of parts and other things to do with my life 🙂 Time to pass the torch
Hi Craig
do you still have your 67.5 2000’s ? interested if they might be for sale.
Craig, very interested in your Datsuns…i know this post is years late….u can text me at 6107517089
My wife Carrol had a Datsun SPL311 in 1967. It was a fun car.
My friend in college had a 1600 and I had a MGB. We never talked about whose car was better. I let him drive mine and he let me drive his. We went out for drives together with our unofficial club of 3. The third being a Opel GT
MGBs were fairly underpowered BMC could have fixed that they had bigger 4 bangers on the shelf but went to the Buick/Rover v8 with 135hp it was the Rangerover spec engine and similar output to the Datsun but they were too scared to put it in the roadster,
Were the MGC six and MGB V8 in response to what Datsun was doing?
MGB is timeless because they built it forever.
Remembering this advert reminded me that, in tune with other markets, the 150 HP U20 featuring twin dual throat Solex carbs was standard-equip on all AU-sold Datsun 2000 Sports, rather than the illustrated twin ‘SU’ style Hitachi with 135 hp.
I remember these back in the early 70s and someone described them as the best British Sports Car made. Yes, tongue in cheek of course, but they did look the part.
I was a member of the CT z car club and Bob sharp was our club advisor… He I believe was the first to race these cars in the US… He would tell great racing tales at our club meetings and get us parade laps around lime rock racetrack.. Stories of working with Paul Newman and Tom cruise. Always a salesman and total gentleman, he retired to Florida. He raced datsuns on Sunday and sold them on Monday… In the 70s a buddy drove one of these when I had my mgb.. His always ran, mine not so much… Here was Bobs early racer
I’m not sure if familiarity has breed contempt ( MGBs are not that thin on the ground here) but for me the Fairlady has the edge. Just waiting to for the UK Classic Car Police to bang on the door now🫣
The first car I ever owned myself (as opposed to cars my Dad had bought and passed to me) was a silver Datsun 1600. I was 21 and a senior in college. It was a blast to drive, at least to me – my prior vehicle was a 1967 Buick Sportwagon with a two speed automatic. The Datsun had a four speed stick, zippy acceleration, and the top would go down. At the time I was living with my Dad and commuting to the University of Washington, so on sunny days I’d bundle up and drop the top to get to school, even in the cold of winter.
Ah, the memories! Thanks for the post!
The MGB vs Fairlady motorcycle analog was the Triumph Bonneville vs the Yamaha XS650, which came out in 1970 and was described from the get-go as a Japanese Triumph twin, which had been around forever in one form or another since Edward Turner designed the parallel twin way back in the late ’30s and came to dominate the industry in the ’50s & ’60s. I’ve owned several of both and it’s a very apt comparison: the Yamaha was dead reliable, didn’t leak oil, had electric start, and looked and sounded like a Bonnie, even down to their big booming exhaust note. Initially they had scary, almost dangerous, handling that took Yamaha several years to sort out, which they finally did by 1975. I’d take an XS over a TR these days,
I’ve also had numerous MGB and MGB/GTs (I prefer the latter) but never one of the Datsuns. One used to see them fairy regularly, they were durable it seems, and I did last see one last summer on Coal Creek Canyon road outside of Denver, parked at a gas station and apparently there for some kind of repair. I was tempted to stop but SWMBO was in the car… just as well! lol
I find these so beautiful .
Sadly I never quite bought one, my loss I think .
Thanks for all the insight .
-Nate
Another rare car that I briefly owned, and almost forgot. It was Denver in 1980 or so. A convertible seemed like a nice idea. The first car I bought had been a convertible, in high school – a bright red Fiat 1500 Cabriolet. I bought on gut instincts then, without the taint of any research.
Ot probably had that ridiculous tall windshield. If it hadn’t, I wouldn’t have bought it. With a tall torso and short arms, I’m forever cursed with an upright seating position and the headroom needs of a person a foot taller. I recall that Fiat and this Datsun as cozy but not confining. Please don’t ask me to even sit in a Miata with the top down! Either way, the windshield header sits at my eye level. Dearly do I miss this kind of gentleman’s droptop grand touring car, which foregoes ultimate performance to become an ideal fair-weather cruiser.
Less than a year after I got the Datsun, it needed minor repairs. I left it at the shop while I was out of town. After the repair, the shop had parked it outside. When I came back to retrieve it, the top had been swiped. This had happened in a much better part of town than mine. The problem of convertible ownership became obvious. Since then, I’ve settled for a sunroof.
Wish I had owned both convertibles longer – especially the Fiat. It would be a trophy now, much less common than this Datsun or the later Fiat 124.