In April 1968 Nissan presented its new Laurel in four-door deLuxe and Super deLuxe versions, both equipped with a 1.8 L inline-four engine and independent rear suspension. In June 1970 a two-door hardtop coupé joined the lineup, as a junior version of the all-new Nissan Cedric/Gloria coupe, and one year later a 2000 cc engine became available in the four-door sedan as well.

Its competitors at introduction were the Toyota Corona Mark II sedan, the Isuzu Bellel, and the Mazda Luce which was introduced in 1966. The Laurel did not sell as well as expected, largely because the design was too similar to that of the smaller, cheaper Bluebird (C30) which was developed as a competitor before Nissan bought Prince.

This car was developed by the Nissan Tsurumi vehicle development team, but the C30 Laurel was fitted with the Prince four-cylinder SOHC engine, the G18 of 1,815 cc capacity. Conversely, the GC10 Skyline 2000GT was developed by the former Prince Ogikubo vehicle development team but was fitted with Nissan’s L20 six-cylinder SOHC engine. The suspension is the same four-wheel independent system that was fitted on the C10 Skyline.

The Laurel Hardtop model was equipped with the SOHC 1,990 cc 110 or 120 PS (81 or 88 kW) G20-series four-cylinders. The four-door sedan was originally only available with the lesser G18. The SU twin-carburetted 2000GX received sporty equipment.

August 1970 saw the release of a modified version of the four-door sedan version, now with the same roof angle as that of the hard top. The instrument panel received redesigned panel meters, and the more luxurious GL grade was added

Also called Datsun Laurel, Datsun 200L, Datsun 1800
Chassis code: C30
Assembly Musashimurayama, Japan
Body style 2-door hardtop coupé, 4-door sedan
Layout front engine/rear drive
Engine
1.8L G-18 I4
2.0L G-20 I4
Transmission 4-speed manual, 3-speed automatic
Dimensions
Wheelbase 2,620 mm (103.1 in)
Length 4,305 mm (169.5 in)
Width 1,605 mm (63.2 in)
Height 1,405 mm (55.3 in)
Curb weight 1,005 kg (2,215.6 lb)