CarBrandLogos archive · Datsun · 1966

DatsunSunny

The people's car Japan named by public competition, and Nissan's answer to the Corolla.

Photo: TTTNIS · Public domain

The story

A defining chapter in Datsun history.

Explore the ideas, engineering and context that shaped the Datsun Sunny, then continue into its specifications and place in the marque's lineage.

Origins

Nissan launched the Sunny in 1966 into the moment Japanese families started buying cars for themselves rather than for work. The name was chosen from a national public competition that drew millions of entries — a piece of marketing that told buyers this car was meant for them.

1972 Datsun Sunny B110 GX-5, front left · TTTNIS · Public domain

Design and engineering

It was small, light, rear-drive and cheap to run, and it landed within months of the Toyota Corolla. The two spent the next thirty years shadowing each other, each generation answering the other's engine sizes and equipment levels; when Toyota advertised a bigger engine, Nissan's reply — 'and then there's the Sunny's extra 100 cc' — became a small legend of Japanese advertising.

1974 Datsun 120Y coupe · OSX · Public domain

In production

The B110 of the early 1970s is the one enthusiasts chase, a sub-700 kg saloon and coupé that responded well to tuning and is now a fixture of Japanese classic racing. Elsewhere the Sunny was simply the sensible choice: exported as the Datsun 1000, 1200, 120Y, 140Y and Sentra, it built Nissan's reputation for cars that started every morning.

1971 Datsun 1200 Saloon · Riley from Christchurch, New Zealand · CC BY 2.0

Legacy

The line moved to front-wheel drive, grew into the compact class, and eventually fragmented — into the Sentra in the Americas, the Bluebird Sylphy and Tiida in Asia, and the AD and Wingroad estates — though the Sunny name still appears on budget saloons in several markets.

At a glance