Taking on the World’s Most Brutal Race
Nissan takes on world’s harshest and longest race on its debut into the international
racing scene. And stuns fans by not only finishing – but, winning its class.
The world’s 'longest and toughest race'
In 1958, the first-ever international rally that Nissan Motor entered was the 6th Australian Rally (official name: 1958 Around Australia Mobilgas Trial), held from August 20 to September 7. This contest, which was the longest in the world at that time, was a more than 16,000-kilometer endurance trial that went clockwise around the Australian continent.
The race started in Sydney, and the entrants would again pass through Sydney and end the trial in Melbourne, with a route designed to stretch the cars and their drivers to the absolute limit of their endurance. To this end, event organizers forbid anyone other than crews to work on the cars, sealing all main engine and transmission components, and if a car was found to be in a dangerous condition, it could be eliminated it from the event.
To give some insight into the details of the race itself, just one controversial detour through Jurien Bay and Green Head forced the competitors to traverse sandhills, swampy bogs and water hazards up to one meter in depth. Accordingly, all drivers had to have their cars fitted with fire extinguishers, first aid kits and a week’s supply of food and water.
By the end of the extreme race that incurred several injuries, broken bones and even one death - only 36 out of the 67 cars that started in the race actually completed it. Shocking the racing world at the time, Nissan’s entry, the Datsun 1000 Sedan (model 210) won the race in its class (the ‘A class’ for vehicles 1 liter or less).
The fame that came after the race from all over world was due to Nissan’s courageousness to take on the extreme challenge, in their very first international rally. This also achieved the goal at the time of "proving the quality and durability of the cars to the overseas market.” This provided a great boost when Nissan exported those models to America, Asia, and Oceania.
The race itself was so grueling that after 1958 it was never held again, but the victory achieved by Nissan lives on.
About the winning car – the Datsun 1000 Sedan (model 210)
The 1957 Datsun 1000 Sedan 210 was the last all-new Datsun before the launch of Bluebird. It was equipped with a newly developed and Nissan’s first OHV 1-liter engine in order to improve high-speed performance. The engineers were thinking of future export potential when they also added such features as curved glass for the windshield. At the Mobilgas Trial (Round Australia), the Class A winning car was named “Fuji”, that teamed up with another 210 called “Sakura”, who came fourth.