1966–70 Datsun 1600/2000 Sports

While the Brits were still making do with finicky overdrive units, the Datsun 2000 had a five-speed gearbox designed by Porsche

by Rob Sass

Aftermarket wheels an improvement

For a long time after WWII, Japanese products were viewed by American consumers merely as cheap copies of Western goods. Conventional wisdom held that a Nikon was a cheap copy of a Leica, a Seiko was a Rolex knock-off, and the Datsun Sports 1500 was a second-rate MGB. None of this was true (for instance, the Datsun predated the MGB by about a year), but fit the Western prejudices of the time. The Datsun Sports SP310 (known as the Fairlady in its home market) debuted in 1,500-cc form at the 1961 Tokyo Motor Show. It followed the bizarre SP211, SP212 and SP213 roadsters of 1959–61, which combined ’50s color combos with bulbous bodies and suggested the Japanese were going to get it wrong again. In the U.S., the 1962–64 1500 (SPL310), the 1965–70 1600 (SPL311), and 1967–70 2000 (SRL311) are commonly lumped together as Datsun roadsters. All were thoroughly conventional sports cars in most respects, but evolved into class leaders in performance and features....