Which brings us to the legend. The first Skyline GT-Rs were produced in 1969, having debuted at the Tokyo Motor Show that same year. These are, of course, known as Hakosuka GT-Rs and I think you’ll agree the classic bodylines still produce a lot of emotion. The S20 engine, a 2-liter DOHC inline-6 that produced 160-hp, helped propel the GT-R to its famed 200 km/h top speed and powered it to its debut win at the 1969 JAF Grand Prix.
Other legendary Nissan nameplates can be found at Zama, too. According to Nissan lore, then Nissan President Katsuji Kawamata was so moved by the musical “My Fair Lady” during a trip to America that he decided to name the upcoming roadster the Fairlady.
And here’s the beginnings of the S chassis, the first Silvia, produced from 1965 to 1968 in very limited numbers. It was actually a semi-custom car, built on the Fairlady 1600 chassis. Part of its legend stems from the fact that the police used it to patrol the Daisan Keihin Road (a highway connecting Tokyo and Yokohama).
The 1973 C110 “Ken & Mary” or “Kenmeri” GT-R was the next evolution for Godzilla, but only 197 units were produced before stricter emission regulations and the ’70s oil crisis killed it. These were the last GT-Rs produced until the introduction of the BNR32 in 1989.
The ’70s wasn’t all bad for Nissan, though. This was really the decade of the S30 Fairlady Z, an iconic sports car in its own right and a body shape that still turns heads to this day. Launched domestically in November 1969, the export model 240Z hit North American dealerships in November 1971. This No.1 car won the 1973 Safari Rally. Amazing to see the battle damage it survived!
The Fairlady Z was also an extremely successful road car, this ’72 top-of-the-line Z-G model sporting its signature 190mm long nose, headlight covers and over-fenders, all of which improved aerodynamics and helped make it the fastest Japanese production car at the time, with a top speed of 210 km/h. With over 1-million units sold worldwide, the S30 is a very rare example of a sports car being a manufacturer’s best selling vehicle during its production run.
The Omori factory S30 race car had a modified version of the L28 engine under its long nose, featuring crossflow combustion chambers that helped it produce an incredible 300-hp at 7,600 RPM.
The ’70s wasn’t just about the S30, either. The Sunny and Bluebird were also popular models as road cars and race cars, this Bluebird 1600SSS (or Datsun 510, in America) having won the 18th African Safari Rally in 1970. That’s one tough little car!
The second generation B110 Sunny was launched in January 1970. This racing version was powered by a seriously potent LZ14, a 1-6-liter engine that produced 200-hp at an astounding 9,400 RPM (the standard L14 made 80-hp). This car won the 1973 Japan GP TS race and must have looked and sounded amazing while doing it.
This ’77 Cedric has some unique graphics on it. It was used for news gathering along the Asian Highway (Route A1) by the Asahi Newspaper Co.
Great coverage and gorgeous photo’s Dave!! The SuperGT car’s aero are just ridiculous. Also, is it meant to be VR38DETT instead of VR35DETT on the last page?
Hi Dave Thank you for writing about this! I don’t want to pretend I know much about cars (at all!) but my partner is a big Nismo fan! We had planned a trip to Japan in November/December to attend a Nismo car festival (which he said was in the first week of December and last year had its 30th anniversary – can you tell I don’t know much about cars?) However, we’ve now had to cut our trip short due to a wedding and will therefore, miss this festival. He had mentioned the zama factory a little while ago for… Read more »
I’m not sure how you’d arrange a tour, but I’ll ask Scott at Kaizen about it. He’s the man with next level Nissan access. Haha.
TimRuddell Indeed it is, Tim! Thanks for spotting that.
Same as japanzama, I would love to know if you think it would be possible to arrange a tour – a group of 12 friends are going to Japan in November, 9 of which are mad enthusiasts and 3 supportive partners :p It would be incredible to see this museum. We probably do fall under the “novice” category, but would love to try all the same 🙂
Thanks a lot Dave! I didnt hear about this until I found this.
I visited Japan las month and went to the Toyota Tech Museum in Nagoya city, but since I am a Nissan fan, finding that there is this kind of collection and not being able to go makes my very very sad.
Could you share with me how to be admitted to visit this Zama Collection? Thanks in advance. My email is .com
Hi!
Could you pease also share info about visit on this mail mrtm@inbox.lv ?
Hello
could you share how to submit a form for the tour?
thank you
Thank you for writing about Nissan. Could you tell mo how to booking for tour?
my email : vannipab@gmail.com
thank you very much.
Hello Dave, Have thoroughly enjoyed reading this article, thanks so much. I am reading it over 2 years since you posted it. My boyfriend (who is very into cars) and I are both from New Zealand and are planning on travelling to Japan in the end of August, and I have been searching to see if there is a place to visit for someone like him who is into the car scene, and this is definitely it! However, as has been discussed earlier, I have discovered that it is difficult to get a tour – private bookings etc. I was… Read more »