{"id":18731,"date":"2021-02-04T10:39:00","date_gmt":"2021-02-04T15:39:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.emanualonline.com\/blog\/?p=18731"},"modified":"2023-12-24T15:12:04","modified_gmt":"2023-12-24T20:12:04","slug":"nissan-silvia-s10-2nd-generation-1975-1979-japanese-legends","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.emanualonline.com\/blog\/nissan-silvia-s10-2nd-generation-1975-1979-japanese-legends","title":{"rendered":"Nissan Silvia S10 \u2013 2nd-Generation (1975-1979): The Turning Point of Japanese Sports Cars"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Nissan Silvia S10 featured an attractive design and not-so-stellar driving dynamics, but it was enough to put it on the radar.<\/p>\n

Nissan’s Silvia <\/a>is one of the most popular Japanese sports car nameplates. Since its inception, the coupe was a magnet for car enthusiasts worldwide, thanks to the excellent price-to-performance ratio.<\/p>\n

Its beginnings were not so rosy, though. The first generation, the CSP311<\/a>, couldn’t capture a lot of market share, finding its way to only 554 customers. As a result, Nissan<\/a> thought of abandoning the model first, but it quickly had a change of heart. In 1975, the Japanese brand launched the second-gen S10 Silvia (Datsun 200SX in the US), a vastly different model.<\/p>\n

Today, the second-gen car is a very sought-after piece, despite some disadvantages. But what made the S10 Silvia so special? Join me on a journey through Japanese automotive history, where we’ll discuss the car that launched one of the most popular automotive nameplates in the stratosphere. Welcome to another enticing “Japanese Legends<\/a>” story!<\/p>\n

\"1975<\/a>
1975 Silvia LS Type X<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Background<\/h2>\n

Ever since the first-generation Silvia ceased production in 1969, Nissan never intended to continue the nameplate with another model. However, the 70s had been very fruitful years for the carmaker as it came up with many new and exciting cars that did quite well in the market. Looking at the growing popularity of the Toyota Celica<\/a>, Nissan’s top brass decided to compete in the small to medium sports car market by reviving the name after a brief 7-year hiatus with the S10 Silvia. The S10 would later go on to be the foundation of Silvia\u2019s reputation as a mean drifting machine.<\/p>\n

Download Nissan owners manuals<\/a>\u00a0here!<\/strong><\/p>\n

Nissan Silvia S10 LS \u2014 Base Model<\/h2>\n

The second-generation S10 Silvia was the first model built on Nissan’s famous “S” chassis that we all know and love today. The S platform was Nissan\u2019s framework for front-engined rear-wheel-drive sports cars. Moreover, also unlike the CSP311, the S10 series Silvia was available in several trim levels. Nissan dubbed the base model Silvia LS, with the others being Type-L, Type-S, and Type-X.<\/p>\n

Nissan had such high hopes for this car that it decided to sell the S10 Silvia exclusively in high-end dealerships. It called these places the \u201cNissan Prince Store\u201d and also sold the iconic Nissan Skyline<\/a> there.<\/p>\n