Nissan Heritage Collection

The Nissan Heritage Collection is a private automotive gallery and preservation facility operated at Nissan's engine manufacturing complex in Zama, Kanagawa, Japan. It safeguards and exhibits historically significant vehicles associated with Nissan and its predecessor and affiliated marques, including Datsun and Prince. The collection is not a conventional retail brand or a fully public museum; it functions as a corporate heritage program, archive, restoration operation, and controlled visitor attraction. The Zama site has an important place in Nissan's industrial history. When the facility opened in the 1960s, it was regarded as one of the company's most advanced assembly plants. The heritage collection was previously housed at Nissan's Oppama facility and was also known as the Nissan DNA Museum. Its purpose is to preserve representative vehicles from the company's engineering, manufacturing, motorsport, and design history, while making selected parts of that history accessible to visitors. The collection contains more than 450 vehicles, with examples dating from the 1930s onward. Around 300 vehicles are presented on permanent display, while approximately 70 percent of the holdings are reportedly maintained in drivable condition. This operating emphasis distinguishes the facility from a static storage archive: selected vehicles can be started for visitors on weekdays, allowing the exhibition to communicate the sound and mechanical character of historic cars as well as their appearance. The holdings include early Datsun passenger cars, the Tama electric car, Prince models, Skyline and Skyline GT-R vehicles, Silvia, Fairlady Z, Sunny, and Nissan competition cars such as the R390 and R390 GT1. Restoration and stewardship are carried out with the involvement of former Nissan employees, whose institutional knowledge supports the preservation of vehicles and their historical context. The exhibition has been associated with David Bishop, identified in reference material as a Nissan senior manager and curator of the display. The collection also works with Nissan's headquarters gallery in the Minato Mirai 21 district of Yokohama. Vehicles may be rotated between the Zama facility and that gallery, extending public access beyond the main collection site. Access to the Zama facility is limited. Visitors must register online and receive approval before attending, and a visit generally lasts about 80 minutes. Until approximately 2013 or 2014, the collection was entirely private and had no public visitor access. The opening of controlled visits marked a shift toward public-facing heritage interpretation. By 2018, the facility had received a cumulative total of approximately 15,000 visitors, according to the cited reference material. The Nissan Heritage Collection should be distinguished from other Nissan-related museums and displays. Nissan's Engine Museum is located in Yokohama, while a separate Nissan Heritage Collection display is located in the basement of the Lane Motor Museum in Nashville, Tennessee. The Zama collection remains the principal corporate vehicle archive described by the canonical subject, combining conservation, exhibition, employee knowledge, and limited educational tourism.

The Nissan Heritage Collection is housed at Nissan's Zama engine manufacturing plant in Kanagawa, a site that began operation in the 1960s and was once among the company's most advanced assembly facilities. The vehicle archive was previously located at Nissan's Oppama facility and was known at one stage as the Nissan DNA Museum. Its institutional role has been to preserve representative examples of Nissan's automotive history, together with vehicles connected to Datsun and Prince, two marques closely associated with the company's development. The collection is curated and maintained as a working heritage archive rather than solely as a display of static objects. Former Nissan employees contribute knowledge to restoration and safekeeping, and a substantial proportion of the vehicles is kept in drivable condition. The holdings span more than 450 vehicles, including cars from the 1930s onward, while approximately 300 are placed on permanent display. The selection covers early production cars, family vehicles, sports cars, performance models, electric vehicles, and racing machinery. Notable examples include the 1936 Datsun 12 Phaeton, the 1947 Tama Electric Car, early Prince Skyline models, the 1969 Skyline GT-R, the Silvia, Fairlady Z, Sunny, and Nissan competition cars including the R390. For much of its existence the collection was private and unavailable to the general public. Around 2013–2014, Nissan began permitting limited visits through an approval-based registration process. Tours generally last about 80 minutes, and on weekdays some vehicles may be started for visitors. This controlled-access model allows Nissan to share its history while retaining the character of a working archive and preservation facility. By 2018, cumulative attendance was reported at approximately 15,000 visitors. The Zama collection collaborates with Nissan's headquarters gallery in Yokohama's Minato Mirai 21 district. Vehicles are periodically moved between the two locations, giving selected cars a broader public presentation. The Zama facility is separate from Nissan's Engine Museum in Yokohama and from a Nissan Heritage Collection display located at the Lane Motor Museum in Nashville, Tennessee. Together, these activities form part of Nissan's broader approach to communicating its industrial, technological, design, and motorsport heritage.

• 2018

  Attendance reaches approximately 15,000 visitors

  [1]Nissan Heritage Collectionen.wikipedia.org

  The collection is reported to have welcomed roughly 15,000 visitors cumulatively by 2018.

• 2013

  Public access begins to expand

  [1]Nissan Heritage Collectionen.wikipedia.org

  After previously operating as a completely private collection, the facility begins allowing limited, controlled visitor access around 2013–2014.

• 1960

  Zama facility opens

  [1]Nissan Heritage Collectionen.wikipedia.org

  The Zama site opens as one of Nissan's advanced assembly facilities of the period. The heritage collection is later housed within the site's engine manufacturing complex.

A corporate automotive heritage archive and curated museum experience focused on preserving Nissan, Datsun, and Prince vehicles in historically meaningful and, where possible, operable condition.

• Historic passenger car · 1936

  Datsun 12 Phaeton

  A 1936 Datsun open-bodied passenger car representing the early production history preserved by the collection and its focus on vehicles from before the modern Nissan name became dominant.

• Historic electric vehicle · 1947

  Tama Electric Car

  A 1947 electric vehicle associated with Nissan's predecessor-era experimentation. Its inclusion documents the company's early engagement with battery-powered transportation well before the contemporary electric-vehicle market.

• Historic sedan and performance car · 1957

  Prince Skyline

  The collection includes Prince Skyline examples, including the 1957 Skyline Deluxe and the 1962 Skyline Sport. These cars represent the Prince lineage that became part of Nissan's historical and product heritage.

• Performance car · 1969

  Nissan Skyline GT-R

  A 1969 Skyline GT-R is among the collection's significant performance vehicles. It illustrates the origins of a nameplate that became central to Nissan's engineering, motorsport, and enthusiast reputation.

• Sports car · 1969

  Nissan Fairlady Z

  The collection includes an S30-generation Fairlady Z dating from 1969. The model represents Nissan's international sports-car identity and the company's use of accessible performance vehicles to build global recognition.

• Motorsport car

  Nissan R390

  The R390 and R390 GT1 are preserved examples of Nissan's high-level endurance-racing program. Their presence extends the collection beyond road cars into competition engineering and the company's international motorsport history.

1. 1Nissan Heritage Collectionen.wikipedia.org
2. 2Nissan Heritage Collection official websitenissan-heritage-collection.com