The series was a predecessor to the Z-car in the Fairlady line, and offered a competitor to the European MG, Triumph, Fiat and Alfa Romeo sports cars.

The second generation Fairlady, called the Datsun 2000 in export, was the two-seat roadster that made their name, fitted with a potent 1,982 cc overhead cam engine with dual SU type side draft carbs and a five-speed transmission.

The main difference is the dual-carburetor "E-1" engine which pumped out 60 PS (44 kW; 59 hp), a large increase in such a small and light car.

The second generation Fairlady made its debut at the Tokyo Motor show in 1961, several months before the roll-out of the similar looking MGB.

It featured a 1.5 L (1,497 cc) G15 OHV engine (from the Cedric) but with a single SU carburettor and 77 PS (57 kW).

It was a well-equipped car with a transistor radio, tonneau cover, map lights, and a clock.

The final revision of the 1500 model occurred in 1965 with a completely redesigned interior which eliminated the back seat and introduced a more sporty dash layout.

To coincide with the 1964 Summer Olympics, Nissan established the gallery on the second and third floors of the San-ai building, located in Ginza, Tokyo.

The Fairlady name was used as a link to the popular Broadway play of the era My Fair Lady.

The restyling was executed in part by Count Albrecht Goertz, who would later be involved with designing the first Fairlady Z.

Rear suspension was a common leaf springs design, damped with hydraulic shocks.

Timing of the distributor could be easily adjusted to reduce pre-ignition knock and thereby tune for questionable quality gasoline.

The axle gearing suffered from design limitations and Datsun performance parts offered a cooling system as a retrofit.

The door handles were changed to flush fit lifting units, while the windshield was taller with a top mounted internal rear view mirror.

Produced from March 1967 until April 1970, the SR311 used a 2.0 L (1,982 cc) U20 engine and offered a five-speed manual transmission, somewhat unexpected for a production car at the time.

The inline, four-cylinder U20 engine had a cast iron block and aluminum alloy head.

This new SOHC engine produced, for 1968 to 1970, 135 hp (101 kW; 137 PS) SAE gross in original trim.

In Australia there were no emission restrictions at the time and all 2.0-litre cars were fitted with the Competition package as standard.

[11] In the US the engines were also fitted with new emissions controls, and the lesser 1600 continued as a companion model through the end of production.