The Nissan Clipper is a nameplate used for two separate commercial vehicle ranges. Originally it was a rebadged Prince light and medium truck range, sold by Nissan after the merger until 1981. In 2003 the name returned on a rebadged Mitsubishi Minicab kei truck and microvan under an OEM deal.
Nissan Clipper at a glance
| Prince origins | AKTG truck of May 1954; Clipper name from October 1958 |
|---|---|
| Original range | 1.5-litre AQTI, 1.9-litre BQTI, T630/T631, T65, T655, T40, C340 |
| End of first line | December 1981, replaced by the Atlas H40 |
| Revival | 2003, rebadged Mitsubishi Minicab |
| 2012 facelift | renamed NT100 Clipper (truck) and NV100 Clipper (van) |
| From 2014 | rebadged Suzuki Carry and Every |
| 2024 | Clipper EV based on the Minicab EV; Suzuki models renamed Clipper Truck/Van/Rio |
based on one source: the English Wikipedia article on the Nissan Clipper.
History of the Nissan Clipper
Prince and Nissan trucks
The nameplate began with the AKTG Prince cab-over truck of May 1954, and the Clipper label first appeared on the 1.5-litre AQTI series of October 1958, with six oval cooling openings in its front. In February 1961 the AQTI received the 1.9-litre GB-4 engine and became the BQTI; in 1963 it was redesigned with quad headlights as the T630 and T631, the latter a Super Clipper with a 1,862 cc engine of 96 PS. A new body arrived in 1965 as the T65, and after the Nissan-Prince merger the truck became the T655 in 1967, sold only through Nissan Prince Store dealers with four chrome-ringed ovals at the front and the 2.0-litre H20 engine. The T40 series replaced it in January 1973 but lasted only a little over three years. The fifth and last generation was the C340 of May 1976, a rebadged Nissan Caball, and the line ended in December 1981 when the H40 Atlas replaced both the Clipper and the Caball.
Kei revival
In 2003 Nissan revived the name for a rebadged Mitsubishi Minicab kei truck and microvan supplied under an OEM agreement. A facelift in 2012 brought the names NT100 Clipper for the truck and NV100 Clipper for the van. In late 2013 the Mitsubishi-based models were replaced by rebadged Suzuki Carry and Every vehicles, because Mitsubishi announced it would stop building its own petrol kei trucks and microvans for 2014. A Clipper EV based on the Minicab EV appeared in 2024, and in the same year the Suzuki-built models were renamed Clipper Truck, Clipper Van and Clipper Rio.
Design and features
- Two eras: a 1958 truck range and a 2003 kei range share one name.
- OEM badges: Mitsubishi from 2003, Suzuki from 2014.
- Distinctive front: six oval openings on the original Clipper.
- Electric version: the Clipper EV arrived in 2024.
Nissan Clipper versions
- Prince Clipper AQTI / BQTI (1958–1963): the original 1.5 and 1.9-litre trucks.
- Clipper T630 / T631 (1963–1965): quad headlights and the Super Clipper.
- Clipper T655 (1967–1973): the Nissan-era Prince truck.
- Clipper C340 (1976–1981): the rebadged Caball.
- NT100 / NV100 Clipper (2012–2013): the Mitsubishi-based kei pair.
- Clipper Truck / Van / Rio (2024–): the Suzuki-based range.
The original Clipper was a twin of the Caball and was replaced by the Atlas. More cars are in the Nissan collection.
Sources
- Nissan Clipper, English Wikipedia: Prince history, truck generations, kei revival, model names
