The Flying Feather was a light and extremely economical utility vehicle that tried to replicate in Japan the success of the Volkswagen Beetle or the Citroën 2CV. Conceived by Yutaka Katayama, one of the most influential personalities in automotive history, part of its development was carried out by Nissan.
In the late 1940s Japan he was mired in poverty. Defeat in World War II had shattered the country’s industrial fabric, and economic reconstruction was slow under occupation by US forces. Hardly anyone could afford to buy a car.
After World War II, automobile production Datsun was restarted in 1947, with utility vehicles based on the Austin 7. By the end of that decade, yutaka katayama He was responsible for the marketing department of Nissan, a group to which Datsun belonged, and he understood that given the situation in the country it would be very interesting to make a small, light and economical car that could be sold in large quantities.
However, the Japanese manufacturer was not convinced because such a cheap car would give very little profit margin even if it sold well. They preferred to invest in the development of larger cars taking advantage of the strategic alliance with the British manufacturer Austin and they sought to complete the range from above by manufacturing the Austin A40 and A50 models under license for the Japanese market.
Katayama decided to go ahead on his own and in 1949 he discussed this idea of making a very basic car with the designer Ryuichi Tomiya, who had been in charge of design at Nissan before World War II. He had a good friendship and Tomiya was encouraged to make a sketch that served as a starting point for his idea.
Together they began the realization of a prototype on the second floor of a building of Nissan in Tokyo. When it was finished, they wanted to get it out of there, they realized that the car did not fit through the door and the stairs, so it had to be taken out through the window, anticipating that the birth of this model would have its difficulties.
The first prototype was presented in 1951. That car had many motorcycle parts such as wheels, fenders or headlights in a quest to simplify their manufacture. It featured a small 200cc single-cylinder engine located in the rear that drove only the left rear wheel via a chain. The design was so simple that it lacked doors.
It only weighed 250 kg and because of its lightness, Katayama baptized it with the name of Flying Feather (flying feather) inspired by the seagulls in the port of Yokohama. After seeing it become a tangible reality, Nissan managers thought that perhaps the idea was not so bad. Up to six prototypes were made at a time when the manufacturer was experiencing economic and labor difficulties. The unions were unhappy and this led to a hard strike by the workers that began on May 25, 1953 and lasted for several months.
Katayama was a mid-level manager and was against unions, he had always pointed out that they were not necessary because managers had to treat workers well. Proof of this is that during the labor conflict some workers locked themselves in the facilities as a protest and he brought them food. A gesture that cost him a loss of confidence on the part of the board and meant that Nissan disassociated itself from the project of the Flying Feather.
But he didn’t stop. As they could not count on Nissan to build the car, he began the search for a company to manufacture it. He and Tomiya enlisted the help of Suminoe Engineering Worksa supplier of interior components for Datsun that provided seats and fabrics to the Japanese manufacturer.
At the same time the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) began studying a program to boost national industry and motorize the population with a “people’s car” made in Japan, just as Germany did with the Volkswagen Beetle or France with the Citroën 2CV.
A car ‘made in Japan’ for the masses
Knowing that their car might be a good candidate, Katayama and Tomiya sought help from MITI. At first, his request did not receive a response, but Tomiya contacted Tadamasha Yoshiki, director of the Society of Automobile Engineers of Japan, whom he knew from his time at Nissan, to mediate and managed to get the organization to see him favorably. Would the Flying Feather be the Japanese “people’s car”?
The production model of the Flying Feather was introduced in April 1954. Cheap to buy and cheap to maintain, this 2.77m long steel ladder frame utility car had a V-twin engine, three-speed manual gearbox and rear-wheel drive. It was visually striking for the motorcycle wheels 19-inch wire spokes.
The four-stroke engine was placed in the rear position and its 350 cc developed 12.5 hp. It was air-cooled, seeking mechanical simplicity at all costs. As the engine was located at the rear, there was no need for a traditional radiator grille at the front. In its place was put a decorated cover behind which was hidden a spare wheel and the necessary tools to change it.
Despite its modest power it moved quite well thanks to its four-wheel independent suspension, one of the few outstanding technical elements, and at its weight of only 425 kg. A pen. With a maximum speed of 60 km/h, it did not offer very high performance nor should it be because the braking capacity was scarce. It had no brakes on the front wheels. and the drum brakes on the rear wheels offered poor performance.
The textile roof was fastened with tacks and was removed back manually. Thus, an austere interior was bathed in light where the occupants would find neither heating nor radio. You couldn’t even raise and lower the side windows like in a conventional car, but the lower part of the glass pivoted out.
In a two-seater configuration, the tubular-frame seats had the only high-quality element: they were upholstered with Nishijin fabric in a checkered tartan design, a luxurious fabric that was bestowed on the diminutive utilitarian by taking advantage of Suminoe’s expertise in automotive interiors.
A great blow of effect was the scene of its presentation: the debut before the public of the Flying Feather took place in the Tokyo Motor Show in 1954. It was the first edition of the automobile exhibition in the capital of Japan and one of the promoters of the event had been Takayama himself. The Hall was a true reflection of Japanese society at that time when the economic crisis was still evident and very few people could own a car. 267 vehicles were presented at the event, but almost all were trucks and motorcycles: there were only 17 cars.
However, the exhibition was a success and throughout the 10 days that the fair lasted, 547,000 visitors attended, being a great showcase for the Flying Feather. Its manufacture began in March 1955the year in which MITI announced the conditions of size, engine, load capacity and fuel consumption that the cars in its plan had to meet, among which was that the car had to cost less than 150,000 yen.
They were extremely demanding to the point that the big manufacturers complained that they considered it impossible to make such a cheap car. Genshichi Asahara, President of Nissan and the Manufacturers Association Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association (JAMA)made his opinion very clear: “Not only is it impossible to build a car at such a low price, it’s not even necessary. If someone wants a cheap car, he can buy a used one ».
With JAMA against it, the national car plan for the masses fell apart and the Flying Feather was left without the support of MITI. With the huge investment in Suminoe’s new vehicle production division and no subsidies in sight, the cost of production was higher than estimated.
The price at launch was 300,000 yen, an amount that soon rose to 380,000 yen. Despite being very spartan it wasn’t as cheap as they could hope. Nor did the expected demand materialize because the public saw it Too easy although Suminoe also did not have enough structure to make a production in large numbers. As if things weren’t complicated enough, Suminoe lost their supply contract with Datsun and that led to their bankruptcy.
Production of the Flying Feather ended that same year with less than 200 units manufactured and Yutaka Katayama returned to Nissan. In 1959 he tried to revive the project, proposing a new design with an aerodynamic aluminum body and using a 16 hp Subaru engine. The following year a prototype of the Flying Feather II was made but it ultimately did not reach production.
The “people’s car” was not a success but Katayama demonstrated his vision throughout his professional career.: opened the market for Datsun cars in the United States, marked the development of the creation of the Z series with the Datsun 240Z as the first member, and became president of Nissan North America until his retirement. known as “Mr. K”Katayama was one of the most influential people in the automotive world.