The article has larger photos now. Now that im not using dial-up anymore ...

Rotary_engine

and you can click each photo to show even larger

Yes, Nissan did large-scale development of the Rotary. They got a license from NSU in 1970 October. In late 1972 they had journalist drive the cars. They were planning on mass production of 3000 cars/month. The S10 Silvia was designed for the space-age motor.

Then the performance car market crashed (insurance and economy -- it killed the US muscle car too). In late 1974 they canceled the project, leaving Mazda and GM as the only automakers still working on the rotary


Found this article from December 1972 Driver magazine "First Test Drive Nissan Rotary"

120 horsepower @ 6000 rpm
116 ft lbs torque
[that put it in the territory of the Skyline]

Looks like a stock PB110 (except for the engine)







stock facelift dash, though the wheel looks different