Nissan again drew up a rotary engine for the S110 Silvia/Gazelle, again abandoned, this time for unreliable twin-plug Z-series pistons instead.
Median 125 hp across 93 similar cars
Lead trim: Z20 2.0 L NAPS-Z (US, 100 hp, 1981) · up to 143 hp
Nissan Silvia S110 / GazelleS110 · 1979–1983
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Nobody in Burbles has spotted a Nissan Silvia S110 / Gazelle yet. See one on the street, point the app at it, and the first card is yours — with your @handle permanently credited on this page.
FactNissan again drew up a rotary engine for the S110 Silvia/Gazelle, again abandoned, this time for unreliable twin-plug Z-series pistons instead.
Built March 1979 to August 1983 as a two-door hardtop coupé and a new three-door hatchback, sold in the US and Canada as the Datsun 200SX and in Mexico as the Datsun Sakura. In Japan the hatchback was the Gazelle, exclusive to Nissan Store dealers alongside the Fairlady Z, while the coupé Silvia stayed at Nissan Prince Store beside the Skyline, with sharp-edged styling shared with the Leopard. Like the S10 it was originally intended to have a Nissan rotary engine, which proved unreliable and was replaced by twin-plug Z-series pistons; the Z18ET turbo (Japan only, after the late-May 1981 facelift) made 135 PS, and the DOHC FJ20 RS was introduced at the same time. It shares its chassis code with the Mazda Cosmo. The 240RS (BS110, about 200 road cars built 1983–85 for homologation) with the 2.4 L DOHC FJ24 was Nissan's WRC rally car from 1983 to 1985, best result second in the 1983 Rally New Zealand. In the US the 200SX moved to the Z20 in 1980–81 and the 2.2 L Z22E for 1982, the S12 not arriving until February 1984.
Collectors Spotted in the Nissan Silvia Lineage
No member has published a public street spot of the Nissan Silvia yet — the First · Worldwide stamp is wide open.
Trims & Figures
4 published trims in the catalogue. A blank is a figure not recorded, not zero.
| Trim | Years | Engine | Power | Torque | 0–60 | Drive | Gearbox | MSRP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FJ20E 2.0 L DOHC RS (Japan, from 1981) | 1981–1983 | 2.0 L Inline-4 | 143 hp | 129 lb-ft | — | — | — | — |
| Z18ET 1.8 L turbo (Japan, 135 PS, from 1981) | 1981–1983 | 1.8 L Inline-4 | 133 hp | 145 lb-ft | — | — | — | — |
| Z20 2.0 L NAPS-Z (US, 100 hp, 1981) | 1981–1981 | 2.0 L Inline-4 | 100 hp | 123 lb-ft | — | — | — | — |
| Z22E 2.2 L (US, 103 hp SAE, 1982–83) | 1982–1983 | 2.2 L Inline-4 | 103 hp | 129 lb-ft | — | — | — | — |
Owning one
We don’t estimate running costs for a car like this. What it costs depends on its condition, its specialist and how it is driven, and an average would mislead.
Owners’ builds
Nobody has claimed one yet.
Photographs
The S15 was deliberately shrunk from its predecessor just to duck Japan's compact-car tax bracket, after the wider S14 had pushed buyers into a higher tax band.
The S14 Silvia grew just wide enough to cross Japan's compact-tax threshold — a few extra millimeters that cost every buyer a bigger road tax bill.
The S13 Silvia packed a head-up display projected onto the windshield — fighter-jet tech on an affordable Japanese coupe back in 1988.
The FJ20ET-powered RS-X Turbo debuted in 1985 as a mid-cycle update to the S12 range, after the Silvia launched in 1983 with naturally aspirated engines only.
Nissan again drew up a rotary engine for the S110 Silvia/Gazelle, again abandoned, this time for unreliable twin-plug Z-series pistons instead.
Nissan planned a Wankel engine for the S10 Silvia, scrapped after the 1970s oil crises forced a rethink.
Tokyo's police force put two Silvias on highway patrol in 1965, making it Japan's first high-performance patrol car at 165 km/h.
Rivals
Same body, same money, other badges — tap any card to flip.
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