is a Nissan Motorsports & Customizing division focused on

tuning Tuning can refer to: Common uses * Tuning, the process of tuning a tuned amplifier or other electronic component * Musical tuning, musical systems of tuning, and the act of tuning an instrument or voice ** Guitar tunings ** Piano tuning, adjusti ...

and converting Nissan cars. Autech was a subsidiary company of Nissan from its establishment in 1986 to 2022, when it was merged with

Nismo , abbreviated as Nismo, is a division of Nissan Motorsports & Customizing focused in motorsport and performance-oriented car models for Nissan. Nismo was initially a company, , formed in 1984 as a result of a merger of two motorsport departmen ...

History

Autech was founded in 1986 as a subsidiary of Nissan. Nissan named

Shinichiro Sakurai was a Japanese engineer inducted into the Japan Automotive Hall of FameThe ...

, the former general manager of the company's Advanced Vehicle Design Department, as the first president of the new company.

Partnership with Zagato

On 27 May 1987 Autech and the Italian company

Zagato Zagato is an independent coachbuilding company and total design centre located northwest of Milan in Terrazzano, a small village near Rho, Lombardy, Italy. The company's premises occupies an area of 23,000 square metres (250,000 sq ft)- 11,000 ...

signed an agreement to jointly produce a luxury sports car aimed mainly at the Japanese market. Autech was responsible for the engine and chassis, and Zagato of the interior and exterior design. The new car used the platform of the Nissan Leopard and was called Autech Zagato Stelvio AZ1. It was unveiled in 1989, with 203 cars planned to be made (three of which were prototypes). Costs kept increasing during development and in the end 104 units were produced.

Merging with Nismo

In December 2021, Nissan said it would merge Autech and sister company

(a motorsport operation) into a new company called ''Nissan Motorsports & Customizing Co., Ltd.''. The merge was completed on 1 April 2022.

Facilities

The head offices and factory are located in Chigasaki-shi,

Kanagawa Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Kanagawa Prefecture is the second-most populous prefecture of Japan at 9,221,129 (1 April 2022) and third-densest at . Its geographic area of makes it fifth-smallest. Kanag ...

. There are additional offices in

Nagoya is the largest city in the Chūbu region, the fourth-most populous city and third most populous urban area in Japan, with a population of 2.3million in 2020. Located on the Pacific coast in central Honshu, it is the capital and the most po ...

and

Fukuoka is the sixth-largest city in Japan, the second-largest port city after Yokohama, and the capital city of Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. The city is built along the shores of Hakata Bay, and has been a center of international commerce since anc ...

and an

ASEAN ASEAN ( , ), officially the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, is a political and economic union of 10 member states in Southeast Asia, which promotes intergovernmental cooperation and facilitates economic, political, security, militar ...

office in

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estimated populati ...

, Thailand.

Activities

Autech modifies various vehicles to adapt them for use by disabled people and to meet the needs of different work areas. It also has tuned Nissan cars.

Tuned vehicles

Some cars produced by Autech ("Autech Version") include the following: * Cedric Y31 Autech Version long wheelbase *

Skyline A skyline is the outline or shape viewed near the horizon. It can be created by a city’s overall structure, or by human intervention in a rural setting, or in nature that is formed where the sky meets buildings or the land. City skyline ...

Autech Version (HR31 coupe) made in 1988 * Skyline Autech Version (BNR32 four-door) *

Skyline GT-R A skyline is the outline or shape viewed near the horizon. It can be created by a city’s overall structure, or by human intervention in a rural setting, or in nature that is formed where the sky meets buildings or the land. City skylines ...

Autech Version 40th Anniversary (BCNR33 four-door) made in 1998 *

Silvia Silvia () is a female given name of Latin origin, with a male equivalent Silvio and English-language cognate Sylvia. The name originates from the Latin word for forest, ''Silva'', and its meaning is "spirit of the wood"; the mythological god of ...

Autech Version K's MF-T (S14) * Pulsar GTi-R (N14), 31 units to date have been recorded * Pulsar Serie Autech (HN15), made in 1996 * Pulsar Serie 3DOOR Hatchback VZ-R N1 version II (JN15) * Stagea Autech Version 260RS (WC34) made in 1996-2001 * Stagea Autech AXIS 350S (HM35) made in 2003-04 *

S15 N/A Autech Version * Silvia Varietta - S15 N/A convertible hard-top Autech Version * Fairlady Z (Z33) Nismo 380RS (JDM) * X-Trail Axis - (JDM) * Dualis - (JDM) * Bluebird Sylphy - (JDM) * Teana - (JDM) * Serena (C26) - (JDM) * Serena (C27) - (JDM) * Wingroad - (JDM) * Tiida - (JDM) * Cube Rider (Z10) - (JDM) * Primera (P10) - (JDM) * Primera (P11) - (JDM) * Regulus 'Star Fire' - (R50) - (JDM) * Lucino (B14) - (JDM) * Elgrand Rider (E50 and E51 Models) - (JDM) * Elgrand VIP (E52) * Grand Livina Highway Star Autech - L10 (2011) and L11 (2014) * Note Rider/Axis (E11/E12) - (JDM)

References

External links

Autech Japan
(English) {{Automotive industry in Japan Nissan Auto parts suppliers of Japan Companies based in Kanagawa Prefecture Automotive companies established in 1986 Automotive motorsports and performance companies Japanese companies established in 1986 Japanese brands