Matchbox 33d; Datsun 126X

This was a concept car which was made by Nissan and displayed at the 1971 Tokyo Motor Show. The 126x had a wedge shaped design with a forward-tilting cockpit canopy. The slots along the hood's centre housed red, yellow, and green lights which lit up in accordance to what the vehicle was doing (accelerating, braking, or constant speed). The vehicle featured a rear-mounted 3-litre 6 cylinder power plant and 4-wheel drive. I like this Matchbox- it stands out from some of the crazier fantasy jobs the Lesney boys were cooking up at the time.

The Datsun 126x was introduced in 1973 and remained in the range until 1978. You will also see this casting in the Super GT budget range of down-scaled Matchbox cars. It was usually yellow with one gold plated release, bases can be orange or black and some have flame stickers - which is the later Streakers issue. None of them is particularly rare, look out for unpainted bases.