Nissan Silvia

The Nissan Silvia is the name given to the company's long-running line of sport coupes based on the Nissan S platform. Although recent models have shared this chassis with other vehicles produced by Nissan (most notably the European 200SX and North American 240SX in the S13 and S14 generations, and 180SX in the Japanese market), the name Silvia is not interchangeable with the chassis codes.

The Original Silvia

The Nissan Silvia CSP311 made its public debut at the Tokyo Motor Show in September 1964. The introductory model was a hand-built coupe based on the Fairlady convertible, styled with input from Count Albrecht Goertz. Production ceased in 1968 after a mere 554 were made, every one unique with hand-formed body panels. Most of the cars remained in Japan, however 49 examples were exported to Australia and another 10 went to other countries. The low production numbers and tedious method of construction assured each car was unique and valuable; this is reflected by the car's purchase price of almost twice as much as the next model in the manufacturer's lineup at the time. After production ceased in 1968, the name Silvia would not grace another Nissan until 1974.

S10

The S10 was the first Silvia built on the S platform. It featured more "traditional" lines than similar offerings from rivals Toyota and Mazda and was summarily less popular with consumers in most markets. In Japan it was fitted with an L18 engine, which it shared with the Datsun 610/Bluebird 180B. In the North American market a version incorporating the larger-displacement L20B was offered as the 200B of the same series Bluebird. This model was affixed with the mandated 5mph (8.0km/h) bumpers and badged as the Datsun 200sx. Its success in both markets was limited, most buyers opting for the Celica over what was considered the more mundane S-Chassis.

S110

This iteration of the Silvia (sold in North America as the Datsun 200SX and in Mexico as the Datsun Sakura), available as a 2-door hardtop coupe and a 3-door hatchback, 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. Ironically, it shared a chassis code with the also ill-fated Mazda Cosmo, first Japanese production car to feature a rotary engine. The car was redesigned shortly after it was released and the Wankel power plant was replaced by a line of conventional piston engines based on the new Z-series engine. These included the Z20 and the turbocharged and fuel injected Z18ET. In USA/Canada the 200SX had the Z20E with H165 rear axle and from 1982-1983 It had a Z22E engine with H190 rear axle