Datsun Type 14 Saloon

Key facts

Year

1935
Country

Japan
Capacity

722cc
Cylinders

In-line 4
Valves

Side
Output

15hp @ 3,600rpm
Performance

51mph
Price new

£114 (Japanese price, not marketed in UK)
Owner

National Motor Museum Trust
Manufacturer

Nissan Motor Co. Ltd

Bearing more than a passing resemblance to an Austin Seven, the Datsun Type 14 was the first car to be mass-produced in Japan. This particular car was imported by Sir Herbert Austin in 1935 purely out of curiosity, though it had previously been thought that he was checking for patent infringements. There are a number of significant differences between the Datsun and the Austin. Either way, the appearance of a mass-produced car from Japan was a hint of things to come.

Datsun’s origins date back to the DAT of 1915. The Datson (son of DAT) name was adopted in 1931. This soon changed to Datsun, in recognition of the rising sun on the national flag. The parent company became the Nissan Motor Co. in 1933. Datsun built 3,800 cars in 1935. In 2015 Nissan production was 5,170,056 vehicles.