Note: What, you think this is a toy review? After the previous warnings?
Earlier this month, Justin decided to check out the Hot Wheels vending machine at his local mall—the same place where he got the Toyota stadium truck that 131 Off-Road covered in April—for anything interesting. Sometimes there’s a gem, not so much other times.
This was the former: the Datsun King Cab Baja Custom. It was introduced in 2024 as part of the Terra Trek line alongside the Hummer H1, 2020 Jeep Gladiator, Mitsubishi Pajero Evolution (for obvious reasons; don’t be shocked if we write about this should we find one), and Toyota Land Cruiser FJ60.
As more manufacturers got into desert racing in the 1970s, Nissan was keen on doing the same. However, the Japanese manufacturer didn’t have a vehicle suited for the environment. Not quite, anyway.
Datsun was introduced in 1955 before being part of the expansion into the United States three years later. Under the leadership of Yutaka Katayama, it quickly became popular in its new market. By 1975, it was the top importer in the US.
With his blessing (and the reluctance of Nissan corporate back in Japan to do the same), Datsun basically became the company’s American factory team under Pete Brock. Datsuns were already proving to be a pretty solid rally car since first appearing in 1958, most notably John Loder Greenly winning Class B at the 1966 East African Safari Rally in a Bluebird before dominating the race in the 1970s.
The inaugural Mexican 1000 in 1967 had three Datsuns: a Patrol driven by Mike McKenna, a 1600 with the great Mary McGee, and Cecil Draney in a 1300. Brock himself fielded three 510s and a Patrol two years later. The Baja entries didn’t enjoy the same amount of success as their rally counterparts, but they were still pretty decent.
As the 1970s progressed, Datsun wanted to get more into the action. Some continued to race cars like Frank Ball’s Datsun 510 that competed in Class 6 from 1975 to 1979, while some buggies used Datsun engines. Pickups were becoming a very attractive option for manufacturers too, and Datsun fortunately made those too. In fact, it was Nissan’s pickup truck line.
In the mid-1970s, Spencer Low and his company Low Manufacturing—who specialized in making off-road Datsuns—converted a Datsun 620 for off-road racing. As he provided strong results in early short course and the desert, Nissan basically named him a factory driver and Team Nissan Datsun was born.
Off Road Xtreme has more on Low’s program.
Nissan Datsun dominated the scene, four-peating as SCORE’s Mini Truck Manufacturer of the Year from 1975 to 1978. Drivers like Low, Jim Conner, Rick and Roger Mears, and Dexter and Will Prince made splashes for the marque, with the Princes—a father and son duo—also claiming the 1974 Class 7 driver’s title in one.
The “King Cab” extended pickup was introduced in 1977. Two years later, Datsun debuted the 720.
The 720, boasting 380 horsepower and being rounder than the 620, continued to compete in SCORE races as well as short course. As Nissan invested more into the program, a proper livery was introduced that decked out the trucks in red, white, and blue. Datsun’s successes also persisted, extending into the Nissan era with 19 titles from 1982 to 1992 across several disciplines like Class 1 in SCORE–HDRA.
Nissan retired the Datsun truck name in 1983, replacing it with the Nissan D21. The company has used the main name for trucks since like the Navara and Frontier, the former being mainly known for rally raids and the latter in the desert.
The livery remained until Nissan finally killed off the factory team, just with the “DATSUN” name along the skirt replaced. Stars of both off-road and outside of racing would get their chance in the newly-minted Nissan red–white–blue like the Mears and even celebrity drivers as part of Nissan’s Rock ‘N’ Racing Team. Chuck Norris, his brother Aaron and son Eric, Broc Glover, musicians Fee Waybill, James Pankow, and Steve Lukather, and actors Robert Hays and Kent McCord were among those to rock the Nissan factory look.
Like the name suggests, Hot Wheels’ Datsun is a desert-going variant of the 1979 720. It comes with a spare tire in the bed, a fairly geometrically intricate bed rack, and even fans on the back of the cabin. A nerf bar is featured on the front bumper. It unfortunately doesn’t have the same dynamic suspension as the stadium truck, but beggars can’t be choosers.
As is usually the case with diecasts based on real racing vehicles, the base livery is accurate but decals will vary since Mattel can’t get the rights to every sponsor. BFGoodrich is one of the real-life backers to stick around and therefore represented, though Bilstein and Valvoline are unique to the diecast. Of course, the #720 is a nod to the vehicle model.
Justin paid $16.49 for this. Considering the Toyota was twice as much, he certainly isn’t complaining here.
Featured image credit: Justin Nguyen
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