UK's rarest cars: 1979 Datsun Violet 140J, one of only four left

Telegraph

25-04-2025

One challenge with this series on vanishing cars is that it can make the writer feel very old. If you are also of his vintage (born the year of Abbey Road and the Austin Maxi), you will probably have seen countless examples of the A10-series Datsun Violet. Today, Jayesh Patel's 1.4-litre model from 1979 is believed to be one of only four remaining on the road.
Nissan introduced the first-generation 710 series in January 1973 to bridge the gap between the Sunny and the Bluebird. The second-generation A10 followed in May 1977, rivalling Toyota's Carina in its homeland. In the UK, the Violet occupied a niche mid-way between the Ford Escort and Ford Cortina market sectors.
As with all pre-1984 Nissan models, the Violet was sold in this country under the Datsun brand. Home market customers could choose from a highly complex line-up, but the UK concessionaire decided to import only the 1.4- and 1.6-litre 140J and 160J saloons as well as the three-door SSS Coupé.
Ironically, for a vehicle that aspired to provide little more than respectable transport for outer suburbia, cars such as the Violet were the cause of some controversy. The 1975 Voluntary Restriction Agreement (VER) restricted Japanese imports to a maximum of 11 per cent of the UK's new car market. This quota was allocated to manufacturers in the same proportion to 1974 sales.
Datsun GB held the premier position of 6 per cent due to its elaborate dealership network and emphasis on affordable models. Toyota held second place with 3.5 per cent, with Honda, Mazda and Mitsubishi dividing the remaining 1.5 per cent. By 1980, Datsun complained to the press that the quota gave 'the UK market on a plate to other foreign manufacturers, particularly those in France and Germany'.
That year, Autocar wrote: 'There is no doubt that Japanese car makers could sell many more cars in Britain.' For the Violet, this meant sales to private buyers as Datsun GB's chief executive Octav Botnar apparently had little interest in the UK's predominant fleet market. For one, the profit margin in this cut-throat (and Ford-dominated) sector was too narrow, while overseas-built company cars were still unusual in the late 1970s.
A hyper-critical buyer might have regarded the Violet's looks as faintly dated. If its predecessor resembled a squashed 1971 Plymouth, the A10 was slightly redolent of a scaled-down 1966 Ford Zodiac Mk4. Then there was the issue of its name which, although not as quaint as the Nissan Cedric, was reminiscent of a Thora Hird character in a black-and-white film.
However, the typical 140J buyer was not overly concerned about the name. Nor were they worried about the long-established 1,397cc overhead-valve (OHV) engine, based on the Sunny's power plant, nor the car's old-fashioned recirculating ball steering. The Violet sold on being reliable and easy to service, with quad headlights and a push-button radio as standard. If that was not enough, there was velour upholstery and a jukebox-like facia.
The Violet also represented excellent value for money, the 140J costing £3,691 in 1979, compared with £3,700 for a Ford Escort Mk2 1.3GL four-door, and £3,694 for the Morris Marina 1300L. The Talbot (formerly Chrysler) Avenger GL and the Vauxhall Chevette GL four-door were also more expensive at £3,794 and £3,705 respectively. By 1980, the A10 was in the Top 10 of the UK's best-selling cars.
Datsun GB even promoted the Violet as 'exciting'; after all, it had acquitted itself well in top-level rallying. Shekhar Mehta had won the 1979 and 1980 Safari Rallies in a 160J. In addition, Andy Dawson's Team Datsun Europe 1.6-litre version was the best-placed non-Scandinavian entrant in the 1978 1,000 Lakes Rally. Such victories enhanced the Violet's image, even if the norm was more a successful day trip to Swanage.
The front-wheel-drive Stanza replaced the A10 in 1981. Patel's Violet is now so rare that an early 'flat floor' Jaguar E-Type looks positively common by comparison. He finds the reaction of the public was always positive: 'People love it. I think that many of them knew someone who owned one back in the day, so seeing one still on the road is so nostalgic. Plus, it's a simple, everyday car that is now a rare classic.'
In some respects, Patel's Violet was a Trojan horse to the UK car market. In 1977, Datsun GB boasted it was 'the Japanese car you can buy with confidence!'. Nine years later, Nissan produced the Bluebird at its new Sunderland plant, making it the first Japanese car built in Britain. And it was cars such as the Violet, with its 'one-touch washer/wiper' control, which helped achieve such a transformation of the motoring landscape.