Datsun Bluebird: Nissan’s longest-running saloon

The Datsun Bluebird was the saloon that carried Nissan’s export business for three decades. Produced from 1955 to 2007, it was sold abroad under a confusing set of names — Datsun 1000, 410, 160B, 180B, 200B — usually chosen by engine size, while in Japan it was always the Bluebird.

Datsun Bluebird at a glance

History of the Datsun Bluebird

The Bluebird name first appeared on a 988 cc four-door saloon of the 210 series, part of the 110/210 family, in 1957. Its engine was based on an Austin design, since Nissan had been building the Austin A50 Cambridge under licence, and in some markets the car was exported as the Datsun 1000. The 210 doubled Nissan’s production at the time and was the first Nissan exported to the United States; two of them won the 1,000 cc class in the 1958 Australia Mobilgas Rally. A cheaper 114 was built for taxi work, and the 211 followed in October 1958 with twin tail lights and 37 PS, or 48 PS from the larger E engine sold abroad as the Datsun 1200.

In September 1963 Nissan modernised the car with boxier styling by Pininfarina, close to the Lancia Fulvia, and the 410 went on sale in 1964. It was the first Nissan with a full unitary body, timed for the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, and came with a 1.2-litre E engine or a 1.0-litre C unit. A sporting Bluebird SS arrived in March 1964 with 71 PS, and a twin-carburettor 1.6-litre SSS of 90 PS followed in May 1965; the SSS became a fixture of the range until 2001. The 410 was also the first Nissan built outside Japan, as CKD kits in Mexico, and a DP411 SSS ran the 1964 Monte Carlo Rally.

The 610 arrived in Japan in August 1971 as the Datsun Bluebird-U, the U standing for “User Oriented”. It adopted the “coke bottle” styling of the period, shared with the larger Cedric, and borrowed its suspension and driveline from the 510, keeping independent rear trailing arms in the saloons while the estate used a live axle. Export markets knew it as the 160B or 180B, and in Australia the locally built 180B went on sale in October 1972 with the 1.8-litre L18 and, from 1975, a five-speed gearbox in the SSS. North American cars were simply the Datsun 610, with a 94 hp 1.8 and, from 1974, the 2.0-litre L20B.

The 810 of July 1976 carried the 610 formula forward and was sold abroad as the 160B, 180B and 200B. In Australia the 200B of October 1977 became the country’s best-selling four-cylinder car, helped by plentiful interior room. The 810 lasted only three years and four months before the 910 took over, and the Bluebird continued through further generations until 2007. In Germany the cars were sold from early 1973 and changed from Datsun to Nissan badging at the end of 1983; the Primera replaced the Bluebird there in autumn 1990.

Design and features

• Export names by engine size: Datsun 1000, 1300, 160B, 180B and 200B.
• British roots: the early engine was based on an Austin design built under licence.
• Unitary body: the 410 of 1964 was the first Nissan so built.
• SSS versions: twin-carburettor sports models from 1965 to 2001.
• Taxi work: every generation served as a Japanese taxi.

Datsun Bluebird versions

• 210/211 (1957–1959): the first Bluebird, with a 988 cc engine.
• 410/411 (1964–1967): Pininfarina styling and the first unitary body.
• 610 (1971–1976): the Bluebird-U, sold abroad as the 160B and 180B.
• 810 (1976–1979): sold as the 160B, 180B and 200B.

The 510 generation has its own page: Datsun 510, and the six-cylinder version became the Datsun 810. More models are in the Datsun collection.

Video: Datsun Collection Datsun 510 Datsun Bluebird 610 710 1200

Video by Stud Bar on YouTube.

Sources

• Nissan Bluebird, English Wikipedia: generations, engines, export names, markets
• Nissan Bluebird, German Wikipedia: European history and the Corona rivalry