Nissan
Silvia (CSP311)

Why it matters

The Silvia CSP311 was Nissan's first luxury sports coupe and was the first Japanese car designed with a full-scale clay model. It was also the first Nissan fitted with disc brakes, and at its introduction in 1965 it was the fastest Japanese production car.

How rare is it?

Six separate kinds of rarity – never combined into one number.

Each kind of rarity is rated separately and never combined.

Production

Every figure says what it counts.

Independent counts (e.g. engine and colour) are never combined into a calculated figure. Surviving examples are never presented as original production.

History

After the success of the Fairlady and Cedric, Nissan began a luxury coupe project with in-house designer Kazuo Kimura. Dissatisfied with the styling, Nissan brought in German designer Count Albrecht Goertz, who reworked the car as a single shape and introduced clay-model design to the team. The prototype was shown as the Datsun 1500 Coupe, using the Fairlady SP310 engine and gearbox.

Production began in March 1965 with the new 1595 cc R-series engine of 96 hp, and ran until September 1968. The car was sold only in Japan, Australia and New Guinea at nearly double the price of a Fairlady, so it was badged Nissan rather than Datsun. The source gives 554 built; a version was also fitted out as a highway patrol car.

Technical specifications

Engine

Transmission & drivetrain

Chassis, body & dimensions

Performance

“Not yet verified” means no source has been checked for that value yet. Nothing is estimated to fill a gap.

Identification guide

How to tell an original from a replica or later conversion.

The CSP311 has a long bonnet with the cabin set far back, a pointed nose with a quad-headlamp array recessed with the grille, an eight-slat aluminium grille in three vertical bars, slim bumpers with the rear split into two half bumpers, and a Ferrari-like dash with an eye-shaped instrument panel. The body panels were hand beaten rather than stamped, and the initial colour was a metallic green called Silvia Gold. Badges read Nissan Silvia on the sides, Silvia at the rear and Nissan on the nose.

Sources

Each number links to the exact facts it supports.

1. 1
   Nissan Heritage Collection: Silvia (CSP311) Level A

   • 550 approx. units built over four years (other sources: 554)

   Accessed 2026-11-11
2. 2
   1965 Nissan Silvia CSP311 Level C Early Datsun (earlydatsun.com) · 2017-05-24

   • new 1595cc 96hp R series engine
   • OHV 4 Cylinder
   • 1595cc 96hp R series engine
   • Bore & Stroke - 87x66mm
   • Compression - 9.0 : 1
   • twin single throat side draught Hitachi 38HJB
   • Torque - 103ft/lb@3600rpm
   • Transmission - 4 speed Floor change
   • Final Drive - 4.11 : 1
   • sat in a slightly modified SP310 Fairlady chassis
   • first Nissan to be fitted with disc brakes
   • Wheelbase - 2280mm
   • Length - 3985mm
   • Width - 1508mm
   • Height - 1275mm
   • Weight - 977kg
   • Top speed - 165kph

   Accessed 2026-11-13