NISSAN MOTORSPORTS & CUSTOMIZING

Autech was founded in 1986 as a subsidiary of Nissan. Nissan named Shinichiro Sakurai, 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 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 Nismo (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. There are additional offices in Nagoya and Fukuoka and an ASEAN office in Bangkok, Thailand.

Tuned vehicles

Some cars produced by Autech ("Autech Version") include the following:

Cedric Y31 Autech Version long wheelbase

Skyline Autech Version (HR31 coupe) made in 1988