Savoy Automobile Museum, Cartersville (Georgia), USA
Until March 30, 2025
Continuing its eclectic exploration of automotive history, the Savoy Automobile Museum presents “A Quiet Greatness”, a new temporary exhibition devoted to post-war Japanese cars, bringing together some of the most interesting models of this production. The exhibition is organized with the help of Mark R. Brinker and Myron T. Vernis, authors of the seminal book on Japanese performance vehicles entitled “A Quiet Greatness”, hence the title of the exhibition. The 2 authors are also collectors and have loaned several of their cars for this exhibition.
We thus go back to the mid-1960s, with 3 rather rare coupes representing 3 levels of performance. The 1966 Contessa 1300S Coupe was built by Hino on the basis of a Renault R8 (with rear overhung engine), with attractive bodywork designed by Giovanni Michelotti. Some 3,800 units were assembled before production ceased, Hino having become a Toyota subsidiary. Also from 1966, the Nissan Silvia CSP311, also known as the Datsun 1600 Coupe, is an elegant coupe with a production run of around 550 units, of which a very small number were sold out of Japan.
The 1967 Toyota 2000 GT Coupe is a genuine sports car, equipped with a 2-liter in-line 6-cylinder engine delivering 150 hp. Its flowing lines were inspired by the Jaguar E-type. Although its performance was widely recognized, production was limited to less than 350 units, making it a top collector’s item among Japanese cars. The Toyota 2000 GT remains famous for its appearance in a James Bond film (You Only Live Twice), in a unique convertible version.
Staying with sports cars, here’s a 1970 Isuzu Bellett GT-R Coupe. The GT-R Coupe was derived from the compact Isuzu Bellett for competition homologation, resulting in a production run of less than 1,500 units. The Mazda Cosmo Coupe (1970) was one of the very first cars in the world to feature a Wankel rotary engine and inaugurated a long line of Mazda rotary-engine sports coupes. With barely 1,200 units produced and very few sold outside Japan, the Cosmo Coupe is a rarity.
In contrast, the Datsun (the name Nissan had long used for exported cars) 240 Z (1971) was the first Japanese sports car to achieve worldwide sales success (almost 150,000 cars produced), particularly in the USA. The 240 Z also shone in circuit racing and rallying, notably in African rallies, thanks to its robustness. The Nissan Cherry is Nissan’s 1st front-wheel drive (also sold under the Datsun name for export), a compact car with original lines, particularly in its Coupe version. The X-1R (1974) is the sporty version, with 80 hp as standard and up to 130 hp in competition and produced around 2,000 units in just 2 years.
The Nissan Pulsar GTiR NISMO Edition (1992) takes us forward almost 20 years. Nismo is Nissan’s sports division, and the Pulsar GTiR was developed from a compact sedan to compete in rallies in Japan and Europe. The Pulsar GTiR NISMO Edition is a limited series of 21 cars, derived from the rally version and tailored to each buyer’s individual requirements.
The Honda NSX-R (1993) is one of Japan’s most iconic sports cars, competing with Porsche and Ferrari both commercially and on the racetrack (class victory at the 1995 Le Mans 24 Hours). In this “R” version, the car has been lightened with carbon-fiber body components and the removal of comfort features. With Recaro bucket seats, optimized engine and suspension, its “driver” felt like he is in a racing car! While the NSX sold nearly 20,000 units worldwide (15 years of production!), fewer than 500 NSX-Rs were assembled.
At the other end of the automotive spectrum, the Autozam AZ-1 is a kei-car, one of those very compact Japanese cars with a small engine, benefiting from tax advantages. While kei-cars are often very cubic to make the most of their reduced size, the Autozam AZ-1 is a mid-engine sports coupe with gullwing doors!
In very different styles, the Mitsubishi Pajero Evo (1997) and the Nissan GTR Skyline R34 (1999) are 2 Japanese sports icons. The Pajero is a large 4×4, more pure off-road than SUV, which Mitsubishi transforms into a rally-raid beast in this Evo version, built for competition homologation purposes. Engine, gearbox, suspension, chassis, bodywork – no part of the car has escaped preparation. By contrast, the Nissan GTR Skyline R34 is a ballerina, a muscular 2+2 sports coupe with a 280hp twin-turbo engine and 4-wheel drive.
The 2 youngest at the show are also very different. The Lexus LFA (2012) is a supercar, with its 4.8-liter, 560-hp V10, carbon chassis and body, and carbon-ceramic brakes. To confirm its supercar status, production has been deliberately limited to 500 units, with buyers selected by Lexus (in the manner of Ferrari or Porsche for certain limited series). As for the Honda S660 Roadster (2015), it’s a Kei-car, a pretty little sporty roadster, its featherweight compensating for the Kei-car’s engine limitations (660 cm3 for 64 hp).
In short, no mass-produced models, but rather a nice selection of limited-production nuggets to be discovered at the Savoy Automobile Museum until March 30, 2025, especially as several models were mainly sold in Japan.
The photos on this page belong to the Savoy Automobile Museum, no right of reproduction without the express permission of the museum.