KIDNEY, ANYONE? Almost brand new “New Silvia”

The S10 Nissan Silvia is an already rare car. Sold in the US as the Datsun 200SX, American-spec safety bumpers marred its clean lines, giving it an undeserved reputation as one of the ugliest cars Nissan ever made. Few in the US thought it worthy of preservation. This one currently for sale in Japan might be the cleanest, most original example left on planet Earth.

The original 1965 Nissan Silvia was essentially a hand-built experiment in personal coupes. A beautifully sculpted body on a Datsun Fairlady Roadster chassis, it shared the same chassis code as the Fairlady, CSP311, but with a “C” for coupe. Of course, the name Silvia would continue on for many decades, first as a beloved sports coupe, then as a tuner darling, then as a cheap drift missile on the Nissan “S” chassis.

However, Nissan didn’t debut the first S-chassis Silvia until a full seven years after the CSP311’s end in 1968. At the time, in 1975, the return of the Silvia was a sufficient enough deal that in all its marketing materials, advertising,  and even some of its badging (as seen on the glove box lid), Nissan called it the “new Silvia.”

That would make this example found in Hiroshima, Japan, a practically brand new new Silvia. A 1976 LS model equipped with a 1.8-liter inline-four and 4-speed manual transmission, it boasts just 30,063 kilometers (16,875 miles) on the clock. Beyond that, though, the car has been preserved in such a way that it is for all intents and purposes, new old stock.

The oh-so-70s avocado green interior has been preserved perfectly. It looks as clean and new as the day it left the factory, so immaculate you can practically smell the off-gassing of the vinyl through the computer screen. Dealer optional seat covers front and rear ensure that even minimal wear was avoided.

The story continues into the engine bay and underneath as well. The muffler, exhaust, and clamps look unusually virgin. So does the rear axle, the cadmium-plated fasteners, and even the undercoating-free crevices are so spotless you could eat off of them. The lines and leaf springs and engine nooks display not one iota of dirt. Either it was never driven in any sort of precipitation, or someone found a stash of NOS S10 Silvia parts.

According to the minimally worded listing, the car is a one-owner example and has been garaged for almost all of its life. The current seller, IS Market, appears to be a dealer of high-end cars. A visit to their website shows an inventory of Porsches, NSXes, and Ferraris. The starting bid on Yahoo Auctions was a mere ¥390,000 (approx. $3,630 USD), but it looks to be a fight to the finish. With 6 days left in the two-week auction, 20 bidders have ratcheted the price up to ¥1.302 million (approx. $12,110 USD). That’s still a screaming deal, if you ask us, but US buyers will have to deal with broker and shipping costs. Still, trying to find a 200SX close to this condition in the US is impossible.