Nissan Zama Heritage Collection in photos

This collection sits in a former Nissan factory, and is vast enough to host a large number of vehicles from throughout its history.

In addition to production vehicles, Zama is also home to a variety of historic race cars.

<p>Seriously, this place is neat. Click through the rest of the slides for a taste of the history the Nissan Zama Heritage Collection holds.</p>

As we said, this is a former factory, and, as such, has a rather unassuming exterior.

Nicknamed "Fuji," this Datsun 1000 Sedan 210, with its 1.0-liter engine, raced in the 1958 Mobilgas Trial, a 19-day Australian rally. It took first in its class and helped Nissan garner more attention outside Japan.

Prince Motor Company, which would eventually merge with Nissan in 1966, wanted to take on Porsche in the motorsports world. Various examples, like this one here, participated in the 1964 Japan Grand Prix GT-II, powered by a 2.0-liter engine making 150 horsepower. While they lost to a Porsche 904 Carrera GTS, but Skylines took second through sixth spots in the finish. This led to the commercial launch of the 2000GT in 1965. Interestingly enough, this race car was fitted with drum brakes, while the production model that followed had discs.

After coming so close to victory over Porsche with the Skyline, Prince entered the 1966 Japan Grand Prix with the R380A-I prototype racer (right, wearing number 11), with its six-cylinder, four-valve DOHC engine and was the overall winner. The R380A-II (to the left of the R380A-I) evolved the car further, challenging international speed records.

The Nissan R381 was built as a Group 7 racer for the 1968 Japan Grand Prix. This example won. Note the split rear wings, which where automated to move independently from one another in conjunction with the rear suspension to provide downforce. That front mirror had to be elevated to account for the rear wings.

Here is a closer look at the R381's active split rear wings.

The Silvia S110-based 240RS (left) was a WRC Group B rally car, and this example competed in the 1983 Rallye Automobile Monte-Carlo. This Fairlady Z 300ZX (center) won the 1985 Japanese Rally Championship. This Silvia 200SX Group A rally car (right) took first in its class and second overall in the 1988 Safari Rally.

This GTP racer took part in the IMSA GT Championship starting in 1985. This example was powered by a turbocharged 3.0-liter V6 making 749 horsepower.

Based on the sixth-generation Bluebird, this particular example raced in three of Japan's 1984 Super Silhouette Races. Its LZ20B turbocharged 2.1-liter four-cylinder engine made 570 horsepower. It also looks really cool, and makes us kind of thirsty.

The Zama collection has a long line of Le Mans contenders from Nissan. Nissan first competed in the 1986 Le Mans 24-Hour race with its R86V (pictured front) and R85V.

This isn't Nissan's first electric car (that one showed up in 1947 and appears later in this gallery), but this is its first with a lithium-ion battery. It leased a limited amount of these Prairie Joy EVs to companies beginning in 1997. This example was used by Norway's National Institute of Polar Research from 2000 to 2006.

These two EVs, the R'nessa EV (1998; left) and Hypermini (2000; left), are essentially ancestors to the Leaf. Their developments, technologies and learnings paved the way for the Leaf's introduction in 2010.

The Nissan Cube EV test car (left) rolled out in 2008 to test the Leaf's lithium-ion battery. Testing continued with the Tiida EV test car (center) in 2009. Finally, the Leaf (right) launched in 2010.

On the left is the Fairlady Z 2by2 300ZX twin-turbo from 1981. In the center is the Middle Sports Fairlady Z Z33 Prototype from 1997. On the right is the fifth-generation Fairlady Zversion ST launched in 2002.

Nissan built its first pickup trucks under the Datsun brand beginning in the 1930s. The Zama collection has a long line of these old commercial vehicles. The first one you see here on the right is the 1935 Datsun 14 pickup. It was built at its Yokohama plant at the infancy of vehicle mass production in Japan.

This Datsun 12 Phaeton, based on the Datsun 10 (Datsun's first model) was the oldest example of Nissan built when Nissan Motor Co. was established in 1933, making it the oldest example in Nissan's collection. 12 horsepower never looked so dapper.

The Datsun name comes from the "DAT" in "DAT Motorcar Co.", and the word "son" (yes, like a child). "Son" in Japanese has a negative connotation with "loss," so the name was changed to Datsun, which also translates loosely to "rushing rabbit," hence the hood ornament. This particular style was often used by owners to lean on when cranking the engine, making it prone to breaking. Later designs of the ornament were simplified and strengthened to prevent that.

Tama was a predecessor of Prince motors. This EV came to be as Japan suffered a postwar oil shortage, and the Tama was popular until 1951. The start of the Korean war in 1950 created soaring lead prices, and Japan dropped its control over gasoline in 1952, and internal combustion came back into favor.

This fire truck, based on the Datsun Pickup 4146, was small enough to navigate narrow lanes. And it looks pretty cool.

From 1952 until 1959, Nissan built cars for Austin for the U.S. market in Japan. This 1953 Austin A40 Somerset Saloon (right) was the first example to to roll off the line at Nissan's Austin plant in Yokohama. This 1959 Austin A50 Cambridge Saloon (left) was the final vehicle to roll off that assembly line.

The Datsun 1000 Sedan 210 followed the 110 developed with Austin. As you can see, the car on the left is right-hand-drive, while the one on the right is a left-hand-drive version bound for North America as Nissan began to gain global appeal, partly due to its early motorsports efforts, like that "Fuji" rally car from earlier in the gallery.

The Datsun 310 Bluebird came out in 1950. A couple evolutions later, and this Datsun Bluebird 1200 Deluxe "Flower Car," painted with flowers and the autographs of prefectural governors, was tasked with delivering flower seeds to the "Kodomonokuni" theme park in Yokohama, built to commemorate the royal wedding of Prince Akihito and Princess Michiko, who later served as Emperor and Empress.

This car, created specifically for use by kids at the Kodomonokuni (which translates to "Children's Country" theme park in Yokohama, was designed by Yoshihiko Matsuo, who later went on to design the Datsun 240Z. Imagine if the Baby had been his legacy, and not the Z car. Phew.

This was the very Prince Sedan owned by Crown Prince Akihito himself. He fell in love with it at the first Tokyo Motor Show, and bought it. After all, they named a car company after him.

This is the first model to use the Skyline name, which, needless to say would become an integral part of Nissan's legacy after it merged with Prince Motor Company 10 years later. Its 1.5-liter four-cylinder engine made 59 horsepower, and pushed the Skyline to a fast-for-the-time top speed of 77 miles per hour.

The Skyline Sport was designed by an Italian, Giovanni Michelotti. It was expensive, and only about 60 units of the Skyline Sport coupe and convertible were produced.

Another Skyline known for its speed, this 2000GT topped out at about 111 mph, thanks to a 2.0-liter engine producing 123 horsepower. It boasted a strengthened chassis, front and rear disc brakes, and front and rear stabilizers.

After merging with Prince, Nissan created the GT-R to compete in touring car races. The 2000GT-R borrowed technology from the R380 prototype racer that appeared earlier in this gallery. That four-valve DOHC engine was re-engineered and put it into a much more conventional-looking body.

Here's the 2.0-liter, six-cylinder, four-valve DOHC engine at the heart of the first GT-R model.

This example of the second-generation Bluebird was built in Mexico, and was provided to the Japanese delegation of the Third International Sports Week in Mexico City in 1967, leading up to the 1968 Olympics. Many of the players autographed the car.

The Datsun Fairlady SPL212 began mass export to North America in 1960, and was updated to this SPL213 in October. With the change, power from its 1.2-liter four-cylinder rose from 47 to 54 horsepower. The L in the model code stands for left-hand-drive. Oh, and fun fact: the Fairlady name was inspired by the musical, "My Fair Lady."

Looking to compete with the likes of Porsche, this was the first Japanese car to break the 200-kilometer-per-hour (124-mile-per-hour) barrier, with a top speed of 205 kph (127 mph). Its 2.0-liter four-cylinder made 123 horsepower, put to the wheels via a five-speed manual transmission with Porsche-type syncromesh.

The Nissan Fairlady Z S30 (or Datsun 240Z to us in the U.S.) saw global success, selling 520,000 units in nine years.  This "Z432" was a higher-performance version, with its four-valve DOCH six-cylinder engine making 158 horsepower (432 stood for "four valves, three carburetors, two camshafts). A limited-slip differential and magnesium wheels were standard equipment.

Just look at this thing, and compare it to the earlier fire truck in the gallery. This one was used by the Arimatsu fire station in Nagoya.

This is the second-generation (1960-1980) of Nissan Patrol, a four-wheel-drive vehicle created to compete with the likes of Jeep. This particular version is a short body with soft top, though it could be had in hard-top, van and station wagon guise.

The Sunny launched in 1966 on Nisan's new B series platform, with a 1.0-liter four-cylinder engine making 55 horsepower.

First revealed as the Datsun Coupe 1500 at the 1964 Tokyo Motor Show, it reached production in 1965 as the Nissan Silvia. Nissan notes that only about 550 were produced in four years due to it being semi-handmade.

We're told this version isn't so popular with crowds. This particular Z car served the Kanagawa Prefectural Police, clocking over 230,000 miles.

On the right is another 1972 240ZG, like the cop car in the last slide. Center is a 1982 Fairlady 280Z with a T-top. On the left is a sick, Canadian-spec 300ZX T-top special edition celebrating Nissan's 50th anniversary.

On the right is a 1985 Nissan Patrol (or Safari, as it was called in Japan when the third-generation rolled out in 1980). On the left is a 1991 Patrol, a fourth generation example of the model (or the second generation of Safari for the Japanese market).

The third-generation of the Silvia launched in 1993 on the S12 chassis (The S12 was sold as the Nissan 200SX in North America). This particular example is equipped with a turbocharged 1.8-liter engine making 133 horsepower. This thing's rad. Check out those pop-up headlights.

Can't help but love that "TURBO" lettering spelled out backwards on the bumper. Gotta let 'em know what you're packing when you show up in their rear-view mirror.

Seriously, this thing screams "Radwood."

The Nissan Be-1 kicked off Nissan's series of "Pike Cars" ("pike" translating to "edgy"). Based on the Nissan March (or Micra, depending on market), it uses design that was considered retro-futuristic for its time. Nissan capped Be-1 production in 1987 to 10,000 units, and received more than 10,000 orders, so they were doled out via lottery.

Nissan's second "Pike Car" was this Pao, which was first shown at the 1987 Tokyo Motor Show before launching production in 1989. Nissan made 30,000 units.

Nissan's fourth "Pike Car" was the Figaro, which launched in 1991, with a development team composed largely of women. Nissan built it for just one year, producing 20,000 units. It's tagline when it was first shown at the 1989 Tokyo Motor Show was "Back to the Future."

<p>The Prairie was a multi-purpose vehicle, almost a half step to a minivan. That rear door slides open — and there's no B-pillar — to offer access to the second and third rows of seating. It also had second-row swivel seats. It could be had with a 1.5- or 1.8-liter engine (this example uses the latter) driving the front wheels.</p>

The Terrano (known in North America as the Pathfinder) launched in 1986, based on the Pickup D21. It was created with input from Nissan Design International in San Diego. This particular example features a 3.0-liter V6 producing 152 horsepower.

The Mid4 was an experimental mid-engined vehicle showcasing Nissan's research and development work, including all-wheel drive and four-wheel steering. While the original Mid4's naturally aspirated V6 made 242 horsepower, this Mid4-II shown here featured a twin-turbo V6 put down 324 ponies. It never entered production, but it did share technology with the 300ZX and R32 Skyline GT-R.

The Mid4-II also had a pretty cool badge on the nose, worthy of its own photo.

Nissan launched the sporty Stagia station wagon in 1996. This Autech Version 260RS was more powerful, with a twin-turbo I6 making 324 horsepower, and a strengthened body and chassis to support the extra oomph.

After a 16-year hiatus, Nissan revived the GT-R name on the R32 Skyline seen here. This GT-R was powered by a twin-turbocharged 2.6-liter I6 putting 324 horsepower to all four wheels. This is the original "Godzilla."

After the 10th-generation "R34" Skyline launched in 1998, followed by the R34 Skyline GT-R in 1999, this V-Spec II included upgraded aero and suspension, active limited-slip differential, and a carbon fiber hood with a NACA duct.

Nissan launched the Infiniti brand in 1989 with the Q45 sedan as its flagship. It featured a new 4.5-liter V8 making 324 horsepower (Nissan seems to really like that output figure). But check out the next slide for something cool.

Look at the neat craftsmanship on that nose emblem. It's an old decoration technique called cloisonné.

With the Pulsar GTI-R, Nissan went back to its racing roots. It was developed to compete in WRC Group A rally races, but also made a popular consumer car. Its turbocharged 2.0-liter engine provided the four wheels with 226 horsepower.