Start with what the Datsun Type 11 is: a phaeton, roadster, coupe, sedan, van with 495 cc DAT side-valve I4, built from 1932, when streamlining and independent suspension were arriving together. What it meant takes a little longer. The shape is credited to Noriyoshi Gotoh.
The background
The Datsun Type 11 was a small car with a 495 cc, 10 HP side valve engine and a three speed transmission. It was offered in several body styles, and DAT/Nissan sold 150 of the Type 11 in 1932. The Type 11 was only produced during the year 1932, as changes in the law allowed Nissan to sell a new model with a larger engine in 1933.
The engineering
The engine is 495 cc DAT side-valve I4. On the scales it comes to 400 kg. Drive goes through a 3 speed manual. The layout matters: a front engine drives the rear wheels, the classic proportion — long bonnet, cabin set back — that most people picture when they picture a sports saloon or a grand tourer. The wheelbase is 1880 mm. These are manufacturer figures carried by Wikipedia and Wikidata, not road-test measurements.
Where it sits
In the Datsun line-up the Datsun Type 11 has a clear place: it replaced the Datsun Type 10; it handed the line to the Datsun Type 12; the factory was Japan. The cars a buyer would have weighed it against include the Chevrolet Suburban, the Bugatti Type 57, the Tatra 57. Its Datsun stablemates include the 280Zx and the 310.
Owning one today
There is no federal ownership record for the Datsun Type 11 — it predates the complaint database or was never sold in the United States — so MotorJury publishes no running-cost figure for it. For a car of this age the price is set by the collector market and the condition of the individual example, not by a formula.