Your Guide to Nissan Chassis Codes

Almost every car-person can tell you what an R34 is. JDM fans will tell you that an RPS13 is a 180SX and a PS13 is a Silvia. The Autech 260RS is a WGNC34, and an R33 GTR is a BCNR33…
wait just one minute… the Autech Stagea is a Skyline - so why isn’t it a BCNC34?

In this highly technical post, I will inform you of what these prefixes from the 90’s and beyond mean. Unfortunately the codes prior to the 80’s were a bit of a dog’s breakfast with the merger of many brands, and amalgamation of different models.

180SX:
The 180SX was a sports hatch based on the Nissan S-chassis, first introduced in 1989 as a pig’s nose. 2 Years later it was given a facelift and an SR20 for the first time.

K = HICAS
P = SR20
R = Hatch
S = S-Chassis

Bluebird:
The Nissan Bluebird originated as the Datsun Bluebird in 1959 and was one of Nissan’s best selling cars, hence why it was in production until 2012.
After the new millennium, the Bluebird saw a change to the new G-Chassis, and was fitted only with the QG series of engines.

no prefix = CA16
F = QG15
Q = QG18
E = SR18
H = SR20
S = CD20
P = KA24
N = 4WD
G = G-Chassis
U = U-Chassis

After 2005 they were fitted with the HR and MR engines seen in many Nissans of the mid-2000’s until now (March, Tiida, Cube).

no prefix = HR15
K = MR20

Cedric/Gloria/Leopard:
Both the Cedric and Gloria started in 1959, however the Cedric was produced by Nissan while the Gloria was originally a Prince Motor Co. vehicle. When Prince and Nissan merged in 1965, both models were continued as luxury vehicles. The Cedric was aimed at an older demographic while the Gloria was slightly sportier and aimed towards a younger people in the luxury car market. In the 1990’s, they shared the Y-Chassis with the Leopard. The Leopard was short-lived and ended production in 1999 while the Cedric and Gloria lived on until 2004 when they were replaced by the Fuga and Cima.

no prefix = VG20
M = VQ25
E = RB25
U = RD28
P = VG30
H = VQ30
G = VH41/VH45
C = HICAS
B = Super HICAS
N = 4WD
W = Wagon
Y = Y-Chassis

Cefiro:
The Nissan Cefiro was introduced at the end of 1989 and was marketed as a luxury/family vehicle. In it’s second and third generation it became a front-wheel-drive family car powered by a transverse-mounted V6. As it was now a family car, it was no longer offered with HICAS or 4WD in the latter generations.

no prefix = RB20
E = RB25
P = VQ25
H = VQ30
C = HICAS
N = 4WD
A = A-Chassis

Fairlady Z:
Preceded by the Datsun Roadster, the Fairlady was introduced in 1965 as a coupe and was named after the musical “My Fair Lady”. Unlike most other Nissans, the last 3 generations of Fairlady only had one engine size and so it was omitted from the chassis-code.

G = 2+2 Seater
H = Convertible
C = HICAS
Z = Z-Chassis

Laurel:
The Nissan Laurel began its lifespan in 1968; after 2 years it was revised to the famous butaketsu. It can be considered the brother-vehicle to the Skyline, being slightly less sporty and more luxurious. It was ended in 2002, and yes, there is a GCCxx model.

H = RB20
G = RB25
S = RD28
C = HICAS
N = 4WD
C = C-Chassis

Leopard:
The Nissan Leopard is a lesser-known model introduced in 1980. Like the Laurel, it was a slightly luxurious model with coupe versions acting as the main opposition to the Toyota Soarer (which would later become the Lexus SCxxx). The first generation was powered by the L-series engine like the Skyline, while the second generation was given the VG-series of V6 engines. The third generation saw the Leopard merge with the already-shared-chassis of the Cedric and Gloria.

G = VG20
U = VG30
F = F-Chassis

Primera:
In 1990 Nissan introduced a car similar to the Sentra, Sunny and Bluebird. It was slightly sportier and as described by Wikipedia was “an entry-level executive car”. It was powered by an SR20 and was available as a sedan and wagon.

no prefix = SR18
H = SR20
Q = QG18
T = QR20
R = QR25
N = 4WD
F = Hatch
W = Wagon
P = P-Chassis

Pulsar:
The Nissan Pulsar was a hatchback introduced in 1978. The most famous and sought after version is the SR20DET-powered GTi-R.
Through its entire lifetime of 1978-2005, the Pulsar was built on the N-Chassis.

no prefix = GA13
F = GA15
E = GA16
S = CD17
H = SR18
R = SR20DET
S = CD20
N = 4WD
N = N-Chassis

Silvia:
The Nissan Silvia was first produced by Datsun in 1964, and featured hand-beaten panels. In the 80’s the Silvia name made a comeback with the S12, which was powered by a CA18, CA20 or FJ20 engine.
During the 90’s is gained popularity as a drift car in Japan; that was soon followed by Western countries and the S-Chassis has since been sought after for being a cheap way of doing skids.
The Silvia ended in 2002 as part of Renault-Nissan’s cost-cutting scheme which also saw the end of the GT-R and Laurel.

no prefix = CA18
P = SR20
K = HICAS
S = S-Chassis

When the S14 was released in October 1993 it was only available with an SR20. HICAS was replaced with Electronic Super-HICAS, and the model codes changed accordingly:

no prefix = SR20
C = Super HICAS
S = S-Chassis

Skyline:
The Skyline began as a Prince Motor Co. ALSI. After the merge with Nissan, it was renamed to the Nissan Skyline. When the first GT-R was created, it dominated the local circuit scene making the GT-R name famous in Japan. The GT-R ended after the second generation and wasn’t revived until the R32 was released in 1989.

F = CA18
H = RB20
E = RB25
B = RB26
C = HICAS
N = 4WD
R = R-Chassis

The GT-R saw another end in 2003 and was brought back as an R35 in 2007.
The Skyline name has lived on as a family sedan and sports coupe as a V-Chassis, also known as the Infiniti G-Chassis.

no prefix = VQ25
Y = 274A
H = VQ30
H hybrid = VQ35
P = VQ35
K = VQ37
V = V-Chassis

Nissan Stagea:
The Nissan Stagea was introduced in 1996 and is based on the C34 Laurel; as such it shares the same components as the Laurel. It was made famous by the racing game Gran Turismo for featuring Autech’s rendition of the 25T RS Four - since then, the Autech 260RS has been a staple of every fast wagon list on CarThrottle.
There were two generations of Stagea before it ended in 2007.
In the first generation, Nissan decided that they would give the Stagea a facelift after 2 years and change the features associated with the badges; this resulted in what owners call the series 1.5. The series 1.5 combined the features and badge of the first series with the appearance of the second series.

H = RB20
G = RB25
C = HICAS
N = 4WD
W = Wagon
C = C-Chassis

In October 2001 the second generation Stagea made an appearance. It was now powered by the VQ series of engines found in the Z33 Fairlady and V35 Skyline, and once again Autech made an appearance, this time swapping the VQ25 for a VQ35 (hence why the VQ35 is not on the model code), and focusing on turning the Stagea into a luxury car rather than a sports car.

no prefix = VQ25
H = VQ30
N = 4WD
M = M-Chassis

Nissan Sunny:
The Sunny was first produced in 1966 by Datsun. It was most famously remembered as the Sunny coupe - an avid racecar - and the 1200, 120J, 120Y, 130Y, 140Y, 150Y and 1600 Datsuns. Most of you will know the Sunny for the B13 and B14 series which made great first-cars for teens who just got their license. The Sunny met its fate in 2004, like many other Nissans as a result of the Renault partnership.

no prefix = GA13
F = GA15
E = GA16
S = CD17
H = SR18
N = 4WD
W = Wagon
B = B-Chassis

In 1998 the B15 generation was released which saw a few changes to the models, mainly a shift to the QG engine series:

no prefix = QG13
F = QG15
J = SR16
Q = QG18
S = YD22
N = 4WD
B = B-Chassis