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1971 Datsun 510 Looks Like a Six-Wheeled Diecast Borg

Automotive history has taught us that some car models become instant icons, while others are relegated to some corner of the industry’s history books, only to be remembered by a select few. Not sure where the Datsun 510 fits in.
1971 Datsun 510 Hot Wheels by Jakarta Diecast Project 14 photos
Photo: Jakarta Diecast Project
1971 Datsun 510 Hot Wheels by Jakarta Diecast Project1971 Datsun 510 Hot Wheels by Jakarta Diecast Project1971 Datsun 510 Hot Wheels by Jakarta Diecast Project1971 Datsun 510 Hot Wheels by Jakarta Diecast Project1971 Datsun 510 Hot Wheels by Jakarta Diecast Project1971 Datsun 510 Hot Wheels by Jakarta Diecast Project1971 Datsun 510 Hot Wheels by Jakarta Diecast Project1971 Datsun 510 Hot Wheels by Jakarta Diecast Project1971 Datsun 510 Hot Wheels by Jakarta Diecast Project1971 Datsun 510 Hot Wheels by Jakarta Diecast Project1971 Datsun 510 Hot Wheels by Jakarta Diecast Project1971 Datsun 510 Hot Wheels by Jakarta Diecast Project1971 Datsun 510 Hot Wheels by Jakarta Diecast Project
Back in 1955, Japanese carmaker Nissan gave birth to something called the Bluebird. It was a compact car that was to become one of the company’s most recognized (and recognizable) models, being kept in production until 2001 globally and 2007 in China – one of Nissan’s longest-running models.

In the purest Japanese style, the model gave birth to a multitude of distinct series, including some wearing the Datsun sub-marque’s badge. But few of those series were as diverse in terms of body styles as the 510.

Born in 1967, the car hit the market as a two- or four-door sedan, a five-door station wagon, and even a two-door coupe for the most pretentious. It became an instant hit in some places, and still has a sort of cult following here and there, with examples selling today for anywhere between $5,000 and $58,000.

Just like all other worth-remembering cars do, the 510 in wagon body style got its own Hot Wheels iteration. In fact, it got several, as the diecast toy maker has been producing miniature 510s of this variety since 2013, with over 20 interpretations hitting the market since.

Like all Hot Wheels do, this one too is as close to the original as possible, and most of the time people are more than happy with collecting or playing with it as is. But not a diecast customizer going by the name of Jakarta Diecast Project (JDP), who chose a 1971 Datsun 510 wagon in Hot Wheels form as the first conversion idea for the new year.

Now, being a regular road car means the Datsun had just four wheels, and as a result so did the toy replica. But that wasn’t enough for JPD, who chose to go down the path of six-wheelers and came up with perhaps the most insane interpretation of the Japanese wagon we’ve ever seen. Even if at scale…

Using the usual methods (you can get a complete taste of that in the video attached below), the diecast was stripped, cut, glued, and painted until it came out at the end of the long work hours (compressed in just 14 minutes for purposes of the video) as a beefed-up wagon on six wheels.

Dubbed a nostalgic car, it features some tell-tale signs of Japanese cars of old, including the fender-mounted mirrors, but also elements no one ever thought of giving a 510 in the real world, including a front end that’ll surely remind trekkies of the Borg. And that only makes us wonder what JDP plans for the rest of the year.

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About the author: Daniel Patrascu
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Daniel loves writing (or so he claims), and he uses this skill to offer readers a "behind the scenes" look at the automotive industry. He also enjoys talking about space exploration and robots, because in his view the only way forward for humanity is away from this planet, in metal bodies.
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