In 1962, Albrecht Graf von Goertz has previously worked as a consultant for BMW, having created the BMW 507, and saw the potential of Japanese manufacturers. Yamaha had created the Technical Research Institute to develop their own sports car in 1959, and had built the YX30 sports car. As Yamaha had a working relationship with Nissan, work began on project A550X, but at some point the project fell apart and work was cancelled. Kazuo Kimura and Fumio Yoshida were both working on Project A550X and when the professional relationship between Nissan and Mr. Goertz ended in 1964, the work on the project contributed to the Silvia.[3][4]

The Nissan Silvia CSP311 made its public debut at the Tokyo Motor Show in September 1964 as the “Datsun Coupe 1500”. The introductory model was a hand-built coupe based on the Fairlady platform. Its appearance is similar to the Lancia Fulvia coupe. The CSP311 was powered by the 96 hp 1.6 L Nissan R series engine. The engine was equipped with twin SU carburetors. Production ceased in 1968 after a mere 554 were made (mainly in 1965), each one of them unique with body panels crafted by hand. Most of the vehicles remained in Japan; however, 49 examples were exported to Australia and another 10 went to other countries.

The low production numbers and tedious method of construction assured that each car was unique and valuable; this is reflected by the car’s purchase price of almost twice as much as the next model in the manufacturer’s lineup at the time. After production ceased in 1968, the Silvia nameplate would not grace another Nissan vehicle until 1974. Its marketing approach was similar to the Isuzu 117 Coupé. In Japan, it was sold at Nissan Bluebird Store locations, and was marketed with the “Nissan” name instead of the more widely used “Datsun” brand name along with the luxury sedan Nissan Cedric.

(Ref.)