Nissan Laurel Guides, Photos and Videos

The Nissan Laurel is a front-engine, rear-drive two- and four-door sedan manufactured and marketed by Nissan from 1969 to 2002. Introduced in 1968 as a new model positioned above the 1968 Datsun Bluebird 510, the Laurel offered the luxury of the Nissan Cedric 130 in a smaller size.

The first Laurel was developed by the Nissan Tsurumi RandD Division and assembled at the Musashimurayama Plant of the former Prince Motor Company in 2-door and 4-door variants. Released as a Nissan after Prince merged with Nissan, Laurels shared many components and architectures with the Skyline range. The Laurel was not marketed new in Japan at Nissan Prince Shop locations that sold the Skyline and Gloria, former Prince products. Instead the Laurel was sold at Nissan Motor Shop as the junior model to the larger V-8 powered Nissan President.

Since 1968, eight generations of Laurel have been produced in Japan. Nissan intermittently listed the Laurel for sale in various Asian and European markets (it was also sold in Chile and Panama, as the Datsun Laurel, starting in the late seventies), and then discontinued the export of this model from 1989. In Japan, the Laurel wasn't marketed as a Datsun; it was always labeled as a Nissan.

The Laurel was cancelled subsequent to Nissan's alliance with Renault.

In April 1968 Nissan presented its new Laurel in four-door deLuxe and Super deLuxe versions, both equipped with a 1.8 L inline-four engine and independent rear suspension. In June 1970 a two-door hardtop coupé joined the lineup, as a junior version of the all-new Nissan Cedric/Gloria coupe, and one year later a 2000 cc engine became available in the four-door sedan as well. Its competitors at introduction were the Toyota Corona Mark II sedan, and the Mazda Luce which was introduced in 1966. The Laurel did not sell as well as expected, largely because the design was too similar to that of the smaller, cheaper Bluebird (510).

This car was developed by the Nissan Tsurumi vehicle development team, but the C30 Laurel was fitted with the Prince four-cylinder SOHC engine, the G18. (On the other hand, the GC10 Skyline 2000GT was developed by the former Prince Ogikubo vehicle development team, but was fitted with Nissan L20 six-cylinder SOHC engine.) This was of 1,815 cc capacity. The suspension is the same four-wheel independent system that was fitted on the C10 Skyline.

The Laurel Hardtop model was equipped with the SOHC 1,990 cc 110 or 120 PS (81 or 88 kW) G20-series four-cylinders. The four-door sedan was originally only available with the lesser G18. The SU twin-carburetted 2000GX received sporty equipment.

August 1970 saw the release of a modified version of the four-door sedan version, now with the same roof angle as that of the hard top. The instrument panel received redesigned panel meters, and the more luxurious GL grade was added.

In April 1972 the second Laurel generation appeared, again in four-door saloon and two-door hardtop coupé form affectionately known as the Butaketsu Laurel ("pig's butt") because of its ample rear quarter panels and tail section, with the taillights incorporated into the rear bumper. The saloon now was endowed with a rear beam axle and leaf springs, while the coupé clung to independent rear suspension. In addition to the 1.8 and 2.0 L four-cylinder engines, a 2.0 L inline-six was now available, joined, from October, 1973, by a 2.6 L six; the latter was replaced by a 2.8 L six in late 1975. The G-20 4-cylinder and L20 six-cylinder engines were equipped with SU twin carburetors but were eliminated February 1976 due to emission regulations.

The styling of the coupe appears to be influenced by the 1970 Ford Torino and the 1971 Mercury Cougar, reflecting a popular styling trend during the 1960s and 1970s called "coke bottle". Sales in Japan (very few were exported) ran to about 96,000 per year, with three-quarters sedans. The Toyota competitor was the Mark II coupé and sedan.

Engines available at the time were the four-cylinder 1815 cc G18 and 1990 cc G20, and the six-cylinder 1998 cc L20. Both the G20 and L20 were available with twin SU carburettors as an option. However, only the G20 equipped cars outwardly announced this with a "Twin Carburettor 2000GX" badge.

In October 1973 the first Laurel with the 2565 cc L26 six-cylinder engine was added and badged as "2600SGL". Since the engine was over two litres, it was not restrained by the size limits imposed by Japanese regulations, and therefore it was fitted with bigger bumpers than regular Laurels. The installation of the 2.6-litre engine in Japanese models helped identify this generation as a luxury car, as the larger engine obligated Japanese drivers to pay higher amounts of annual road tax.

In September 1975, in order to meet the new emissions regulations for that year, the L26 was replaced by the larger yet 2753 cc L28 six-cylinder. By October the carburettors in the L20 were replaced with electronic fuel injection and the engine was now dubbed L20E. Because of the difficulty in meeting the emissions regulations, the twin-carburetted engines were all discontinued. The 1,770 cc L18 replaced the G18 in the lineup.

In February 1976 carburetted 1.8-litre and 2.0-litre engines which met the 1976 emissions regulations were introduced, and were identified with the Nissan NAPS badge.

In 1974 Nissan developed an electric passenger sedan based on the Nissan Laurel. The Nissan Laurel C130-EV - referred to as the Datsun 200L-EV in export markets - developed to be used by the VIPs at the 1975 International Oceanographic Exposition in Okinawa. It was originally engineered by the Prince Motor Company, but produced by Nissan when the company assumed Prince operations in 1966.

The C130-EV uses one 16.0 kW (21.5 hp) electric motor, rear-mounted and driving the rear axle through a two-speed automatic transmission. The Nissan Laurel C130-EV has a claimed top speed of 85 km/h (53 mph) and a range of 65 km (40 mi). Nissan's next electric car venture would be the 1998 Altra.

The third generation appeared in January 1977. For the first time, the C230 was available in either saloon and hardtop coupé form, but also as a hardtop saloon without B-posts. The hardtop was only available with six-cylinder engines. Buyers could choose between a 1.8-litre four, a 2.0-litre inline-six (carburetted or fuel-injected, a first for the Laurel), a 2.8-litre six, or a 2.0-litre diesel four, sourced from Nissan Diesel. Transmissions were mainly four- or five-speed manuals or a three-speed automatic, although a three-speed manual with a column shift was also available in the lower spec and commercial versions. In the autumn of 1978 the C230 received a mild facelift (type C231), marked visually by squared instead of round double headlights. The Toyota competitor was the Mark II coupé and sedan. Again, comfort was prioritized over handling and agility.

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