automotivebriefs
Marque · Designer

Nissan

11
briefs
9:35
average
105 min
in total
On automotive.briefs11
9:57

Nissan 300ZX Z32

Toshio Yamashita · 1989

The Z32 is the second-generation Nissan 300ZX, sold in Japan as the Fairlady Z from 1989 to 2000 and in the US from 1990 to 1996. Isao Sono and Toshio Yamashita designed it, with a 3.0 L V6 offered naturally aspirated or with twin turbochargers, and Nissan drove it up-market, faster, more advanced and dearer than the Z31 it replaced. Car and Driver named it to its Ten Best list seven years running.

9:59

Nissan Silvia S13

Nissan Design · 1988

The S13 Silvia went on sale in Japan in May 1988 and won the Car of the Year Japan award in its first year. It paired a multi-link rear suspension with the HICAS four-wheel steering system, moved from the CA18 turbo four to the SR20 in 1991, and was built as a coupé until 1993. Its hatchback sister, the 180SX, carried the platform abroad as the 200SX and 240SX.

8:29

Nissan Skyline GT-R KPGC10

Shinichiro Sakurai · 1970

The KPGC10 is the two-door hardtop coupé version of the first Skyline GT-R, added in October 1970 to the four-door PGC10 that launched in 1969. It carried the same 2.0 L S20 four-valve inline-six, sat on a wheelbase 70 mm shorter, and was built in 1,197 units until 1972. Together with the PGC10 it won 49 consecutive Japanese touring car races.

10:43

Nissan Skyline R30

Nissan · 1981

The R30 Skyline launched in August 1981 on the Laurel platform as a coupé, sedan, Liftback and wagon. Its most famous version was the DR30 RS, powered by the FJ20 four-valve twin-cam four, turbocharged from 1983 and given the Tekkamen front end that year. The RS is credited with rejuvenating the Skyline brand and paved the way for the return of the GT-R badge.

9:06

Nissan Pulsar GTI-R

Nissan · 1990

The Nissan Pulsar GTI-R was a homologation special, a road-going version of the N14 hatchback sold as a Pulsar in Japan and a Sunny in Europe. It paired a turbocharged 2.0-litre SR20DET with ATTESA all-wheel drive. The works rally programme never won a Group A round, but the car did well in production-class rallying.

8:32

Nissan Figaro

Naoki Sakai · 1991

The Nissan Figaro is a 1991 Japanese-market, right-hand-drive, fixed-profile convertible built by Aichi Machine Industry (later Pike Factory) on the first-generation Nissan March/Micra platform. It is one of four Pike cars, conceived as part of a design strategy borrowed from personal electronics marketing.

10:11

Nissan 180SX

Nissan · 1989

The Nissan 180SX is a Japanese-market fastback built from 1988 to 1998 on the S13 platform. It featured pop-up headlights and a liftgate. It launched in March 1989 and was sold exclusively through Nissan Prince Stores alongside the Skyline and Silvia. It used the CA18DET turbo engine initially, then upgraded to the SR20DET in 1991 and added the SR20DE in 1996.

8:54

Nissan Be-1

Naoki Sakai · 1987

The Nissan Be-1 is a tightly edited response to urban life in late-1980s Japan. It is not fast. It is not spacious. It is not branded. It is precise, deliberate, and self-contained. It exists because Naoki Sakai solved a specific problem: how to make a small car feel like an object of intention—not utility.

10:09

Nissan Pao

Naoki Sakai · 1989

The Nissan Pao is a deliberately small, retro-styled hatchback built in Japan between 1989 and 1991. It belongs to Nissan’s Pike Factory series, conceived as a fashion object rather than a transport tool. Its design references specific European city cars—Mini, 2CV, Fiat 500, Austin A40—with functional reinterpretations of their details. It sold out in three months despite no Nissan branding and limited production of 31,352 units. It trades utility and dynamics for coherence, charm, and cultural timing.

10:51

Nissan R390 GT1

Ian Callum · 1997

The Nissan R390 GT1 is a Le Mans GT1 race car designed in 1998 by Ian Callum at TWR Design, built jointly by Nismo and TWR in Atsugi, Japan. One road car was built for homologation; eight race cars followed.

8:35

Nissan GT-R

Shiro Nakamura · 2007

The Nissan GT-R (R35) is a Japanese sports car and grand tourer produced from 2007 to 2025. It features a front-mid mounted 3.8 L V6 engine and all-wheel drive, built on the PM platform — a derivative of the FM platform — and was developed over seven years as part of the Nissan Revival Plan to deliver world-beating performance.