The small Japanese city of Zama, 25 miles southwest of Tokyo, is best known now for the US Army camp on its outskirts that was established soon after the Second World War. Military jets roar in and out seemingly without relent, shattering the calm for everyone and everything on the flight path, including Nissan's remarkable Heritage Collection. The first time you hear a fighter jet on its final approach above the vast roof of the immaculate warehouse you'd swear one of the many Group C Le Mans racers was tearing down a corridor towards you.
The GT-R has come a long way!
Nissan's Zama Heritage Collection is more than 400 strong, with around two thirds of those on display at any one time. Many of the exhibits are privately owned by local benefactors, the rest by Nissan itself. Few and far between are opportunities to peruse the collection; not only is it on the other side of the world from here, it's also closed to the public.
Located in a former assembly plant in the midst of an uninspiring industrial estate, there's no flag-waving or ceremony to signal the warehouse, simply a modest sign above a door that reads 'Nissan Heritage Collection.' The only moment of pomp comes once you've hurried through the reception area with its handful of exhibits to a large roller door. It rises achingly slowly to reveal the collection beyond, where 1930s Austin 7-alikes nestle alongside 1970s saloon cars, where every generation of Skyline GT-R vies for attention with terrifying Super GT racers. While some of the models on show are utterly pristine countless others are not, such as the barbequed 240Z rally car.
The collection serves to remind us of the breadth and history of Nissan as a car manufacturer, from builder of joyless hatchbacks to racer of Le Mans prototypes. Here's a very small selection of the highlights, with a more extensive gallery beneath.
Mad on Gran Turismo, even wilder in the flesh
In order to homologate its pair of Skyline GT-Rs for the 1995 and 1996 24 Hours of Le Mans, Nissan was required to build a single road-going version of the competition car. Based on the R33-generation Skyline it ditched four-wheel drive in favour of rear-wheel drive and, to best exploit the regulations, grew an extraordinary set of wheel arches.
The result is surely the meanest, best-looking GT-R of its generation. In among the brightly liveried competition cars it remains one of the most arresting sights in the entire collection, but although it appears fit to stand toe-to-toe with any modern supercar it plainly lacks the bite; the 2.6-litre turbocharged engine was largely standard, allowing for little over 300hp.
The one-off was actually registered for road use in the UK, but the closest we ever got to a production version was the 98-unit run of 'LM-Limited' models that had a revised front bumper, carbon-fibre rear wing and Championship Blue paintwork.
Fairlady 240Z-G Police Car
With 150hp to haul a little over 1,000kg, the Fairlady 240Z-G - distinguishable by its tacked-on wheel arches, longer nose and more prominent rear spoiler - was the fastest Japanese road car back in 1972. Its 130mph top speed made it ideal for use a police highway patrol car, as this siren- and flashing light-adorned example was.
The mind dreams of late night pursuits around Tokyo bay, founding fathers of the Midnight Club weaving through traffic in tuned JDM oddities in a bid to catch the attention of the cream-on-black Fairlady.
The reality is probably rather more mundane (the Midnight Club wouldn't be founded for another 15 years for one thing), but during its 370,940km of service with the Kanagawa Prefecture Highway Police force this 240Z will surely have found itself in more than its fair share of scrapes.
R390 took Nissan's only Le Mans podium
During the GT1-era of the 1990s, manufacturers began to exploit loopholes in the Le Mans regulations. Rather than building competition machines derived from existing road cars, they simply built thoroughbred racing cars and knocked out one or two road legal examples in parallel to navigate the homologation requirements. As a result Nissan's Skyline GT-R-based racers of 1995 and 1996 stood little chance of competing with the bespoke Mercedes-Benz CLK GTR and Porsche 911 GT1.
For 1997 Nissan returned with its riposte, the NISMO and Tom Walkinshaw Racing-built R390 GT1. It turned out a pair of road cars to tick the homologation box and set off in pursuit of the competition. Power came from a twin-turbocharged 3.5-litre V8, good for 650hp.
The R390's best result at Le Mans came in 1998 when the #32 machine finished third overall. It remains Nissan's only Le Mans podium to date. This example is actually the #33 car that finished tenth overall, now wearing the number 32 to commemorate the more successful car.
#73 is the original Tokyo show Skyline
With its swollen arches and Dodge Charger-inspired front grill treatment, the 1972 2000GT-R could have rolled out of Detroit in the late Sixties. This particular car is the display model that appeared at the Tokyo motor show to preview the C110-generation Skyline H/T 2000GT-R, which arrived a few months later in January 1973 powered by a 160hp, six-cylinder engine.
This generation of Skyline carried the nickname 'Ken and Mary' in reference to the fictional couple who featured in the domestic television advertisement. Although the basic model was a huge success, the GT-R version lasted only three months until stringent emissions regulations, brought on by the oil crisis, effectively killed it off. 197 units were built for the home market.
It remains one of the biggest draws of the entire collection, as evidenced by the steady stream of camera phones pointed in its direction during our visit. With its demise so soon after launch, the GT-R badge would lie dormant for some 16 years.
MID4 tech eventually made it to the GT-R
The MID4 concept first arrived at the Frankfurt motor show in 1985 with the Type II version, shown here, displayed two years later with modifications to improve efficiency. The branding left little to the imagination; this four-wheel drive, mid-engined concept had Porsche and Ferrari in its sights.
The twin-turbocharged V6 developed 330hp, enough to eclipse the 911 and 328 competition that Nissan so wanted to upset. With double wishbone front suspension and a multilink set-up at the rear the MID4 had the hardware to be a serious contender in the junior supercar class, but sadly it never made series production due to the prohibitive cost.
What's outstanding about the MID4 today is the freshness of its styling, for the front end in particular wouldn't look out of place on a car 10 years its junior.
Although the MID4 didn't get the green light, the HICAS four-wheel steering and ATTESA four-wheel drive systems that it showcased would underpin future generations of Skyline GT-R.