1965–1968 NISSAN SILVIA (CSP311)

The CSP311 is still a point of argument in the S-chassis lineage, because, while it was the first to officially carry the Silvia nameplate, it was based on and shared a chassis, floorpan, engine, and most mechanical components with the Fairlady SP311. Early success with the Datsun Fairlady and Nissan Cedric saw the automaker look to try its hand at building a new luxury sports coupe, with Nissan in-house designer Kazuo Kimura working on designing a concept.

Nissan liked the idea but was not happy with the styling and brought in outside help courtesy of German designer Count Albrecht Graf Goertz — this saw the final product take on a very European appearance. Featuring a long bonnet line that lunges forward of an open grille; large wheels and wheel arches; and small, subtle bumper bars, it was also the first Japanese car to be designed using a full-scale clay mock-up.

Introduced for the 1965 model year, it was never intended to be produced in large quantities, with Nissan opting not to make presses to stamp out the panels. Instead, the body was handcrafted on a jig — explaining why it retailed at near double the price of its Fairlady counterpart. Most examples were licked in a metallic green colour dubbed ‘Silvia Gold’, with later examples available in white. In total, 554 were produced before the model was discontinued in 1968.