| Industry | Automobile |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | Zama , Japan |
| Services | Public exhibition |
| Parent | Nissan |
The Nissan Heritage Collection is a private car gallery located in the Nissan engine manufacturing plant in Zama, Kanagawa, Japan.
The Zama facility, where the collection is housed, used to be Nissan's most advanced assembly facility when it opened in the 1960s. [1] It was previously housed in Nissan's Oppama and was also known as the Nissan DNA Museum. [2]
Up until 2013–2014, the collection was entirely private, with no public access whatsoever. By 2018, it had welcomed a total of 15.000 visitors. [3]
The museum focuses on restoration and safekeeping of Datsun, Prince and Nissan cars, and is curated by former Nissan career employees. [4] The facility houses more than 450 cars dating as far back as the 1930s. [5] 70% of the cars in the collection are in drivable condition. [3] 300 cars are on permanent display. [6] The exhibition is curated by David Bishop, Senior Manager at Nissan. [7]
Visits to the facility are limited. Visitors must register for a visit online and wait for an approval. [5] Visits last about 80 minutes. On weekdays, the engine of some cars are turned on for visitors. [6]
This facility works closely with the Nissan Headquarters Gallery, located in Minato Mirai 21 district, Yokohama, and some cars from the collection are displayed in the gallery on periodical rotation. [8]
There is also a Nissan Heritage Collection in the basement of the Lane Motor Museum in Nashville, Tennessee. [9] The Nissan Engine Museum is located in Yokohama. [10]
Datsun was a Japanese automobile manufacturer brand owned by Nissan. Datsun's original production run began in 1931. From 1958 to 1986, only vehicles exported by Nissan were identified as Datsun. Nissan phased out the Datsun brand in March 1986, but relaunched it in June 2013 as the brand for low-cost vehicles manufactured for emerging markets. Nissan considered phasing out the Datsun brand for a second time in 2019 and 2020, eventually discontinuing the struggling brand in April 2022.
Nissan Motor Co. Ltd. is a Japanese multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan. The company sells its vehicles under the Nissan and Infiniti brands, and formerly the Datsun brand, with in-house performance tuning products under the Nismo and Autech brands. The company traces back to the beginnings of the 20th century, with the Nissan zaibatsu, now called Nissan Group.
The Nissan Z-series is a model series of sports cars manufactured by Nissan since 1969.
The Nissan Skyline GT-R is a Japanese sports car based on the Nissan Skyline range. The first cars named "Skyline GT-R" were produced between 1969 and 1972 under the model code KPGC10, and were successful in Japanese touring car racing events. This model was followed by a brief production run of second-generation cars, under model code KPGC110, in 1973.
The Nissan Bluebird is a compact car produced between 1955 and 2007 with a model name introduced in 1957. It was Nissan's most internationally recognized sedan, known for its dependability and durability in multiple body styles. The Bluebird originated from Nissan's first vehicles, dating to the early 1900s, and its traditional competitor became the Toyota Corona. The Bluebird was positioned to compete with the Corona, as the Corona was developed to continue offering a sedan used as a taxi since the Toyota Crown was growing in size. Every generation of the Bluebird has been available as a taxi, duties that are shared with base level Nissan Cedrics. It is one of the longest-running nameplates from a Japanese automaker. It spawned most of Nissan's products sold internationally, and has been known by a number of different names and bodystyles, including the Auster/Stanza names.
The Nissan Skyline is a brand of automobile originally produced by the Prince Motor Company starting in 1957, and then by Nissan after the two companies merged in 1967. After the merger, the Skyline and its larger counterpart, the Nissan Gloria, were sold in Japan at dealership sales channels called Nissan Prince Shop.
The Prince Motor Company was an automobile marque from Japan which eventually merged into Nissan in 1966. It began as the Tachikawa Aircraft Company, a manufacturer of various airplanes for the Japanese Army in World War II, e.g., the Ki-36, Ki-55 and Ki-74. Tachikawa Aircraft Company was dissolved after the war and the company took the name Fuji Precision Industries. It diversified into automobiles, producing an electric car, the Tama, in 1946, named for the region the company originated in, Tama, using the Ohta series PC/PD platform. The company changed its name to Prince in 1952 to honor Akihito's formal investiture as Crown Prince of the nation. In 1954 they changed their name back to Fuji Precision Industries, and in 1961 changed the name back again to Prince Motor Company. In 1966, they became part of Nissan, while the Prince organization remained in existence inside Nissan, as Nissan Prince Store in Japan until Nissan consolidated the Prince dealership network into "Nissan Blue Stage" in 1999.
The Datsun Sports, was a series of roadsters produced by Nissan in the 1960s. The series was a predecessor to the Z-car in the Fairlady line, and offered a competitor to the European MG, Triumph, Fiat and Alfa Romeo sports cars. Beginning with the 1959 S211, the line was built in two generations: the first generation was largely handbuilt in small numbers, while the second generation was series produced. The second generation first appeared in 1961 and continued through 1970 with the SP311 and SR311 lines.
The Nissan Laurel is a front-engine, rear-drive two- and four-door sedan manufactured and marketed by Nissan from 1969 to 2002. Introduced in 1968 as a new model positioned above the 1968 Datsun Bluebird 510, the Laurel offered the luxury of the Nissan Cedric 130 in a smaller size. In Japan, the Laurel was marketed solely as a Nissan model, rather than a Datsun model.
The Nissan L series of automobile engines was produced from 1966 through 1986 in both inline-four and inline-six configurations ranging from 1.3 L to 2.8 L. It is a two-valves per cylinder SOHC non-crossflow engine, with an iron block and an aluminium head. It was the engine of the Datsun 510, Datsun 240Z sports car, and the Nissan Maxima. These engines are known for their reliability, durability, and parts interchangeability.
The Nissan Z engine is a series of automobile and light truck four-cylinder engines that was engineered by Nissan Machinery, manufactured by the Nissan Motor Company from 1979 through August 1989. All Z engines had 4 cylinders, a total of 8 valves and a single overhead camshaft (SOHC). Displacements ranged from 1.6 L to 2.4 L.The Z series' engine blocks were nearly identical to those of the earlier L Series with the exception of the Z24. While the Z16 and Z18 engines had a deck height similar to the earlier L13/L14/L16/L18 variants, the Z24 had a taller deck height to accommodate a longer stroke. The most notable difference between the Z-series engine and its predecessor was the introduction of a new crossflow cylinder head which reduced emissions by moving the intake ports to the right side of the engine opposite the exhaust ports. This change allows the exhaust port velocity to more effectively scavenge the cylinder and reduce reversion pulses to enhance induction. This change also limits maximum valve lift/lobe lift profiles rendering the cylinder head and valve train configuration undesirable for high-performance uses. The Z series evolved into the NA and KA engines which, along with the smaller CA series, replaced the Z series.
The Prince G-series engine was the company's only straight-four and straight-six engines which began production in 1955. A number of variations were made, with both OHV and OHC heads. A diesel four-cylinder with 1.9 L (1,862 cc) was also built, called the D-6. The G series was used in the Skyline, the Laurel, and the Gloria from the 1950s to the early 1970s.
The Nissan S20 engine 2.0 L (1,989 cc) was a straight-6 four-valve DOHC internal combustion engine produced by Nissan from 1969 to 1973, originally designed by engineers of the former Prince. It was the first mass-produced Japanese engine with more than two valves per cylinder.
The Nissan R390 GT1 was a racing car built in Atsugi, Japan. It was designed primarily to gain a suitable racing entry in the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1997 and 1998. It was built to race under the grand touring style rules, requiring a homologated road version to be built. Therefore, the R390 was built originally as road car, then a racing version of the car was developed afterwards. Only one R390 road car was ever built and is stored at Nissan's Zama facility, although one of the race cars was later modified for road use. The road car was claimed to be capable of attaining a top speed of 354 km/h (220 mph). However, this claim has never been proven.
The Prince R380 is a racing car built in 1965 by Prince Motor Company to compete in the Japanese Grand Prix. Following the merger of Prince Motor Company and Nissan Motors in 1966, the R380 was modified into the Nissan R380-II.
The Nissan R382 was a racing car built in 1969 by Nissan Motors for competition in the Japanese Grand Prix. Built to the Group 7 motorsports formula, the car featured Nissan's first V12 engine. It was a replacement for the Nissan R381 from the previous year.
The Nissan R383 was a race car built in 1970 by Nissan Motors that was planned for use in the 1970 Japanese Grand Prix. Replacing the Nissan R382, it would be the final racing sportscar built by Nissan until the mid-1980s.
The Nissan Engine Museum is an automobile engine museum run by Nissan Motor Company. The museum is located at the first floor of the guest hall in Yokohama auto plant, Kanagawa-ku, Yokohama, Japan.
Shinichiro Sakurai was a Japanese engineer inducted into the Japan Automotive Hall of Fame who originally worked for Prince Motor Company then later moved to Nissan. After graduating from Yokohama National University, Sakurai worked for the Shimizu Corporation before he was given the opportunity to work in the Japanese automotive industry, which was his first intent. He later joined Prince as a chassis engineer in 1952, and was heavily involved in the development of the first generation Nissan Skyline. He continued to head the Nissan Skyline project long after the Nissan takeover, headed the Nissan MID4 project, and was appointed President of Autech in 1986. He continued to work in the automotive field up until his death.
Kozo Watanabe is a Japanese automotive engineer who was responsible for the development of the ninth generation Nissan Skyline (R33) and the tenth generation Nissan Skyline (R34).
