NZ Performance Car

1975–1979 NISSAN SILVIA (S10)

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After a seven-year break, Nissan dusted off the Silvia nameplate for its all-new S-platform that took heavy styling inspiratio­n from the Datsun Sunny/120Y. Known as the ‘S10’, with its L18 heart, it was marketed as an economical sports car, but reports from the era claimed it couldn’t handle cornering quite like the Z or 510 that it was going up against — the latter of which it shared front suspension with. And, not to repeat the downfalls of the previous model, which critics claimed was too small, the S10 was considerab­ly more spacious and bulkier in comparison. However, it featured more traditiona­l lines than the rival Toyota Celica and Mazda Capella, causing it to prove far less popular, even in Japan.

Exported to the US rebadged as the 200SX, and packing an emissions-choked L20B engine, the S10 was even less popular. There was still a distrust of Japanese sports cars, and the federally mandated beefed-up bumpers ruined the cars’ intended lines, causing sales to flop. Both in the US and Japan, buyers tended to opt for the Celica instead. Nissan tweaked the styling in ’77, responding to the criticism, but it was too little, too late. More than 145,000 examples were built in its four-year lifespan.

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