Usually, when it comes to ‘70s Nissan coupés, it’s all about Fairlady / 240Zs, Silvias and Skylines. They get all the plaudits and the rose-tinted glasses, despite questionable esthetics (the Silvia especially). But the real sleeper of the Nissan two-door catalogue has to be the C130 Laurel: same bones as the contemporary Skyline, half the awkwardness. And anything but a boar, despite its nickname.
The more one gets acquainted with laurels, the more attractive they become. I haven’t had much luck finding interesting ones so far, so here’s hoping this will be the one that turns the tide. No, I haven’t been resting on them (sorry, I had to), they’re just a bit less charismatic, as a nameplate, than others. Although I understand that, as far as old Laurels go, the second generation ones do have something of a following.
Our feature car was not exactly easy to capture, as evidenced by this picture. But this is the first one of these second-gen Laurels I’ve found (or even seen, as these weren’t exported much), so it warranted a little discreet trespassing. Nothing ventured, nothing posted.
The Nissan Laurel was launched in 1968 and sold exclusively by Nissan Motor Store dealerships. Just like the C10 Skyline, it was built at Prince’s Murayama plant and shared the Skyline’s drivetrain, but had a different body, designed by Nissan, that only came as a saloon or hardtop coupé. The first generation, known as C30, did not set any sales records, as it looked a bit too much like the Bluebird 510 for its own good. Nissan recognized this and subsequent Laurels were more like alternate-reality Skylines than overgrown Bluebirds.
In April 1972, the second generation Laurel (C130) was launched, about six months ahead of the Kenmari (C110) Skyline. The kinship with the Skyline is more evident here than in the C30, but the Laurel still managed to find its own niche. Just like the C30, the C130 Laurel only came in two variants: a four-door saloon or a hardtop coupé. The Skyline had a van/wagon through to the late ‘80s and always kept the coupé/saloon combo going, whereas the Laurel coupé never made it past the third generation (1977-80), after which the nameplate was chiefly represented by a hardtop (be it genuine or “pillared”) sedan. The Laurel ran out of road in 2003, as a result of the Renault merger, when the eighth generation came to a close.
Getting back to the subject at hand though, the C130 Laurel range was spread across four engines, at least seven trim levels and two body styles. The one that is seen in most brochures is the SGL, which might be equated, in the contemporary Ford vernacular, to a Ghia trim. Our CC is an SGX, the Sporty Spice of the bunch, fittingly enough.
Said SGX sported the 2-litre straight-6 in twin carb form, churning out 130hp. There was also a 2-litre and a 1.8 litre 4-cyl. for lower grades, but in late 1973 a 2.6 litre version of the six was added to headline the options list. That was augmented to a 2.8 on mid-’75, chiefly to comply with tighter emissions regulations. The higher-end Laurels had disc brakes all around to go with their all-independent suspension – overall, a pretty advanced package.
Advanced, yes. Tight, no. In the Japanese car connoisseur community, these Laurels are apparently called Butaketsu – literally “pig butt.” This was the era of the Toyota Kujira (“whale”) Crown too, so I guess this kind of nickname was in the zeitgeist. The wide (ha ha) adoption of Detroit-style Coke Bottle styling by Japanese carmakers in the late ‘60s gave their cars with an impression of bulk, compared to the Italian-tinged designs that came before. But in terms of actual measurements, strict regulations prevented Japanese automakers from going full sumo.
Here’s the putative porcine fundament in question. I’m quite partial to a slice of ham, and this is not an unattractive hind quarter. Somewhat Rubenesque perhaps, but surely the term “pig butt” is excessive here. And if anything, this looks much better than the C110 Skyline’s rather lame ”Surf line” rear fender. Guess I’ll have to write that one up fairly soon so we can contrast the two…
Plus, the Laurel’s awesomely styled C-pillar “ventiport,” which looks like it might actually be a proper vent (or possibly a hair drier), is there to help take attention away from that slightly plump derriere.
Our feature car, sadly, has been extensively modified to increase performance. These mods are pretty tame as far as the exterior goes, but the same cannot be said of the cabin, alas, down to the driver’s seat. One hopes this pig’s butt is now liable to fly, with all that stuff.
Here’s the brochure shot to make up for it, though our CC is a post-facelift car with a slightly revised dash, compared to this 1972-74 SGX interior. Anything would look better than the Mad Max nightmare currently crowding that Laurel’s dash. Di-Noc needs to breathe too!
With a smidgen under 350,000 units sold, the second generation Laurel outsold the first over two to one. This proved that the Laurel had found its niche and filled it, at least on the JDM. Nissan exported a few to a few far-flung places such as Benelux, Thailand and Chile as the Datsun 200L, usually with the 4-cyl. engine, but the model’s true target clientele was always the domestic one.
Judging by what I’ve seen and read on the Interwebs, this generation is feted as the nameplate’s greatest hit, particularly in this spicy, meaty SGX 2-litre twin carb guise. In Japan, you don’t pass the pork, it’s the pig’s butt that passes you.
Related post:
Car Show Outtakes: 1974 Datsun 200L Coupe – Laurel C130 Series, by Johannes Dutch
I’ve always had a soft spot for the S130 and S30 Laurels. Skylines. I would definitely agree with you on the questionable esthetics of the 1970s Silvia , not so much the other models. Far worse offenders like the Sunny/120Y.Having said that, the S130 hardtop is overall nicer looking than the slab sided C110 Skyline hardtop.
As for the sedan’s I think they are fairly evenly matched.
Did the S130 sedans, at least the top end 6 cylinder versions, have the independent rear end?
In England, Motor Magazine gave the Datsun 200L Coupe a full road test in late summer ’73. They weren’t much impressed. It was the 2 litre four pot which they found ‘dreadful for a car costing £2000’ – the engine was loud and harsh, there was excessive wind noise and the whole structure they thought lacked rigidity leading to squeaks and rattles.
They also ‘disliked the high waisted heavy styling with its peculiar mixture of planes and lines – the decorative indentations on either side of the tail look rather like accident damage’.
That’s the same year as they didn’t like the Citroen Ami Super much either – for not entirely dissimilar reasons.
I think I’d like a C130 Laurel Coupe as much as I love my Ami Super: which is quite a lot.
“The boot hasn’t been dented, those curves are intentional.” Hahaha!
They cannot have been great sellers in the Netherlands as I cannot remember them at all.
Any we have probably arrived used all the regular Skyline family of cars need help to be able to handle well the Japanese default setting is mush and skinny tyres to help the package, later models were popular here but their age is showing now, however I saw an immaculate Medalist in traffic last week so some survive.
For a 70s model car, I think these look quite appealing, let down (IMHO) by the front end/grille that looks a bit too plain/almost cheap looking.
I remember picking up a British magazine in the mid 70s that had a Laurel 4 door as the cover car. I remember back then thinking it looked okay in profile but when viewed straight on, it somehow looked a bit too narrow.
Oddly, in 3 visits to Japan, the only body style of this model Laurel I remember seeing was the wagon/van. They seemed to be fairly popular with plumbers and other types of home repair companies.
I’ll just park this one here, Tatra-san. 🙂
This is a seventies model from long-gone Yamada, though this car is still available (and popular with Japanese modellers) from Aoshima. Yes, the shape of the roofline and rear quarters isn’t quite right, and it’s amazing to see the lengths some of those guys go to to correct it.
The rear bumper and tailights looks a lot like a 1971 Plymouth Satellite coupe. Doesn’t look too porcine to earn its “pig’s behind” moniker.
Mmmmmmmmm, long-time Laurel fan here, and conveniently I have a Butaketsu of my own! Although sadly it’s not a driver, more of a ‘stuck to the top of my computer screen’ type deal…
Mmmmmmmmm, long-time Laurel fan here, and conveniently I have a Butaketsu of my own! Although sadly it’s not a driver, more of a ‘stuck to the top of my computer screen’ type deal…
The tail end of the coupe has a Dodge fuselage shape to it.
Me thinks Nissan was looking over the shoulder of the Dodge boys.
I think the Japanese couldn’t go any further to copy the tail light of a ’71 Plymouth Roadrunner. Yes a ’73 liftback Celica was the Japanese Mustang but this Laurel rear end is the pinnacle of copying.