Nissan's Magnificent 7

The Zama Heritage Collection, they said. A few classic Nissans, they said. Bring a scarf, they said… They were right about it being chilly but, fair dinkum, there's more than a few 'classic' Nissans here.

This is the motherlode!

As I wander along the rows of cars, marvelling at vehicles I had no idea existed and others I knew had been built but were forever lost to the sands of time, I'm awestruck by the simple beauty of a Skyline from 1960, a vehicle that looks as though it was styled by an Italian coachbuilder.

Our guide scolds me "No touch!" as I reach out to caress its svelte lines, not even realising I am doing so. And thus the cycle repeats for 40 minutes – not nearly enough – as I meander through chronologically catalogued Nissan nirvana.

The NISMO Festival was a feast for the senses, an action movie if you will. Think of the Zama collection as more like an art house movie.

But like the short tour, this yarn can only be so long, so I've chosen my seven favourite cars from the stupefying Zama collection. There are some oddball cars in there that almost made the cut, such as the pillar-less Prairie people-mover, the Cedric taxi and Be-1 golf cart thingo, plus countless race cars of significance. But these are vehicles that either made my jaw drop and my mind fizz.

1967 Datsun Fairlady 2000
Powered by a 1982cc four-cylinder engine worth 108kW/177Nm, the early Fairlady – so named because they are cars that can 'dance' with the driver, according to Nissan historians – delivered this exquisite design. I had a quick look on carsales.com.au and there was one for sale at $32,000, packing a turbo 2.0-litre (SR20DET). Yikes!

1987 Nissan Mid4 (II) Concept
With a top speed of 250km/h and powered by the 300ZX's 3.0-litre V6 (VG30DET), the Mid4 Concept immediately attracted my attention largely because it looked so incongruous among the other classics and race cars.

The 242kW all-wheel drive coupe was unleashed in 1985 to take on Italian supercars, but it never made it to production despite being reworked for the Tokyo motor show in 1987, making this particular vehicle incredibly rare indeed.

1966 Nissan Silvia
The Silvia, or 200SX as it was eventually called in Australia, started life as this svelte coupe that has an unbelievably appealing exterior.

Only a small number of these vehicles were built, less than a thousand, and even back in the day they weren't cheap as the body panels were hand-made.

Powered by a 1.6-litre carburetted four-cylinder engine, I can only imagine how satisfying it would be cruising around in an original Silvia… What a beauty!

1972 Datsun 240Z-G police car
In Japan it's customary for police cars to be destroyed so they don't fall into the hands of private buyers, but Nissan managed to salvage this beauty, a 240Z complete with sirens, lights and livery.

The 1010kg sporty's 2.4-litre inline six (110kW/206Nm) is hooked up to a five-speed manual that drives through the rear wheels. Originally a patrol car from the Kanagawa prefecture highway police, this car has 370,940km on the clock!

1933 Datsun Type 12
The first Nissan ever. And when it's viewed in pristine condition in a freezing warehouse it's kinda special. It was the genesis of the Nissan dynasty and sure, it's not as visually or mechanically exciting as an R32 Skyline GT-R, but gee-whiz it's special.

It weighed 400kg, had a 750cc engine and three-speed manual, and in its day it would have turned heads like a Bugatti Veyron does today.

1969 Nissan Skyline KPGC10
The original and the best? There were some sterling vehicles in the Zama collection but the first ever Skyline GT-R stole my heart. You don't see too many of them in Australia but in Japan they're much-loved and few would be as original and as straight as this one.

Powered by a 2.0-litre inline six-cylinder engine (S20 I6), the rear-drive GT-R is now one of the world's most famous names in the performance and race car world. It difficult picking the original Hakasuka over the many others in the collection, including R32, R33 and R34 models, but I just couldn’t take my eyes off this one.

1998 Nissan R390 GT1
In the late 1990s car manufacturers who wanted to race in the prestigious Le Mans 24 Hours had to build road cars. Them's were the rules! And so Nissan built just two R390 road cars, one of which is here at the Zama collection, the other in the hands of a private buyer.

Originally pegged at $1million, they're priceless today not only because of their stratospheric performance – 354km/h top speed, etc – and expensive construction, but also their rarity and what they represent. This was certainly one of the highlights, and most certainly one of maddest road cars ever built.

Feel free to discus any of your favourites in the comments below and if you're a Nissan buff I strongly suggest you visit the Zama collection.

Although it's not open to the public every day, appointments can be made and there are open days throughout the year too. If you're ever in Japan and have even the slightest interest in cars, look this place up. You won't regret it.