DATSUN

510

The Datsun 510 was the third-generation Bluebird, released in Japan on 15 August 1967 and launched in the United States in October 1967, where it became the car that changed America's perception of Japanese automobiles. Championed by Yutaka Katayama, the legendary "Mr. K" of Nissan USA, the 510 was deliberately engineered in the mould of European sports sedans, and in particular the BMW 1600-2: it combined the overhead-camshaft L16 1.6-litre four-cylinder with front MacPherson struts and semi-trailing-arm independent rear suspension, a specification unheard of at its price. The range covered a four-door sedan, a two-door sedan from June 1968, a five-door wagon and the handsome two-door coupe added in November 1968, with the twin-carb SSS versions topping the line. On track the Datsun 510 became a giant-killer: Peter Brock's BRE team with driver John Morton won the SCCA Trans-Am 2.5 Challenge championship in both 1971 and 1972, and a 510 won the gruelling East African Safari Rally in 1970. Global sales topped half a million cars in its 1968-1973 run. Cheap, tough, rear-wheel drive and endlessly tunable, the Datsun 510 became the darling of grassroots racers and remains one of the most collectible vintage Japanese cars today.