Nissan Clipper

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The Nissan Clipper is an automobile nameplate by Nissan that has been used for two separate commercial vehicle ranges of kei trucks in Japan. Originally this was just a relabeled version of Prince's "Clipper" light/medium duty commercial vehicle range.

In 2003, the nameplate was revived for a rebadged version of the Mitsubishi Minicab, a kei truck/microvan provided in an OEM deal. The Clipper truck/van received its facelift on 2012 and renamed the NT100 Clipper (truck) and NV100 Clipper (van).

In late 2013, the rebadged Minicab models were replaced by a rebadged version of the Suzuki Carry and Every, due to Mitsubishi Motors announced that they would stop manufacturing their own petrol-engined kei trucks and microvans for 2014.

Prince Clipper[]

This had begun with the AKTG Prince Cabover truck of May 1954, with the Clipper label first introduced on the 1.5-litre AQTI series of October 1958.[1] The Clipper featured a distinct frontal treatment, with six oval openings for cooling. In February 1961, the BQTI "Super Clipper" with a larger 1.9-litre engine was added to the lineup. In January 1963 the modified T630/T631 Clipper/Super Clipper was introduced, featuring quadruple headlights. Engines remained the same as before, albeit with a bit more power: a 73 PS (54 kW) 1,484 cc four for the T630 and a 1,862 cc unit with 96 PS (71 kW) for the T631 Super Clipper.[2]

In April 1966, following the merger of Nissan and Prince's operations, the truck was renamed Nissan Prince Clipper (T65), where it was exclusive to Japanese Nissan dealerships called Nissan Prince Store locations. Again, the front treatment was unusual; the front featured four large chrome-ringed ovals, two of which were for cooling and two held the lights. The T65 also received a 1,982 cc Nissan H20 four-cylinder petrol engine.[2] In January 1973 the new T40 series replaced the T631, but it was short-lived. The diesel model has chassis codes beginning with YT40. The next (and last) generation Clipper was the C340 of May 1976, but this was merely a rebadged Nissan Caball. The line came to an end in December 1981, when Nissan's commercial truck range was rationalized. The H40 Nissan Atlas replaced both the Clipper and the Caball.[1]

Gallery[]

Prince Clipper[]

Rebadged Mitsubishi models[]

Rebadged Suzuki models[]

References[]

  1. ^ a b "Nissan Fact File 2004-2005" (PDF). Nissan. 2005. pp. 26–27. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-01-08. Retrieved 2011-06-10.
  2. ^ a b Bent, Alan. "Prince Trucks and commercial vehicles from the Prince Motor Company". Earlydatsun.com. Retrieved 2011-06-10.
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