1979–1983 NISSAN SILVIA (S110)

By the time the third generation rolled around, Nissan had heavily embraced ’80s tastes. Gone was the baked-potato aesthetic of the S10; in its place, slick, sharp body lines. While some would claim that this refashioning wasn’t necessarily a good thing, it proved to be popular both domestically and in export models.

The S110 went by a number of names. It was sold as both a ‘Silvia’ (coupe) and ‘Gazelle’ (hatchback) in most markets, ‘180SX’ in parts of Europe, ‘Sakura’ in Mexico, with the US retaining the ‘200SX’ nameplate. Exports came equipped with the holdover L20B from the S10, while the Japanese were treated to the 100kW fuelinjected single-overhead-cam Z18ET — the first turbocharged heart used in an S-chassis.

Come 1982, Nissan had introduced the infamous FJ20E to the Japanese-market S110. This was a result of Nissan’s head honchos not supporting the use of the FJ solely in the DR30 Skyline for which it was designed, requesting it be modified slightly to fit the S110. It has long been rumoured that this generation was originally intended to be powered by a Nissan-produced rotary engine that proved to be unreliable and was canned shortly after.