DATSUN 240Z: The ULTIMATE History of the First Z Car

foreign [Music] have you ever wondered why automakers built sports cars companies dub Untold sumps into these passion projects and equip them with bleeding edge technology with this level of investment they can't simply be making them for kicks so what gives if you ask former Nissan president katsuji kawamata this question sometime in the 50s he would have said that they weren't for making money to him they were meant to embody the very best a company could bring to the table designers see them as creative Outlets while Engineers use them as experimental hotbeds if executed properly a sports car can earn the respect of Industry Rivals and elevator brand in the eyes of the general public whatever profits are sacrificed in these endeavored pale in comparison to the prestige a manufacturer stands the game from them for a while the company's own sports cars reflected this principle the 1959 s211 wasn't a very successful Venture financially speaking it had a fiberglass body much like the Corvette of the day while this kept this felt Sportster LED on its feet it also introduced a manufacturing roadblock assembly was a slow and laborious process it's no wonder why Nissan only managed to build about 20 of them they were in it for the long haul though instead of swearing off sports cars Nissan collected itself and released the redesigned spl212 in 1960. this featured a conventional steel body work as well as a more powerful 43 horsepower engine it proved to be an important part of the American product portfolio 288 of them were produced between January and October this made up a considerable part of the US exports that year which totaled just 1640 the Datsun brand fleshed out at slanup in the ensuing years and Roadster cells stagnated its direct successor the spl213 found its way in a just 297 homes during its time on the market for comparison's sake Datsun exported 3948 cars to the United States between 1961 and 1962. the redesigned 300 series roadsters were by far the most successful of the line from 1962 to 1970 you US exports totaled 38 557. Datsun export as a whole meanwhile came in at just under 413 000 during that same span while they weren't huge money makers for Nissan they were vital to establishing its reputation in the early years at a touch over three thousand dollars the 2-liter sports 2000 was one of the stronger options in the segment it had a 135 horsepower 132 pound-foot torque motor as well as a curb weight of 2100 pounds these were healthy figures at the time and they translated to superb real world performance a 1968 current driver test revealed a 0-60 time of 9.3 seconds and a quarter mile time of 17 seconds flat that same review told of an unforgettable Driving Experience Heavenly engine noises and a buttery smooth 5-speed manual transmission made it much more than a paper tiger the Stellar out of the box performance made it popular with enthusiasts backyard erasers could ring more power out of its engine with ease it also found success the higher echelons of competition bringing home multiple scca titles in the late 60s and early 70s even though it was a very accessible machine the Datsun Sports proved to be a very effective halo car for the brand few others on the market could match his combination of price performance and pedigree great as it was it did have its shortcomings Nissan had an unusual setup for its operations in the United States so Ichi kawazoe was in charge of the eastern part of the country while Yutaka katayama managed the West Coast both of them were hearing out negative feedback from dots and sports odors those near the Atlantic had to contend with atrocious weatherproofing the canvas top couldn't keep water out of the Interior one unhappy customer even stated that they could see the sky through the gap between the door stash and the top performance in the snow was as equally abysmal inadequate protection from the elements wasn't as much of a concern out west style was at the Forefront of their minds and the folding roof had the potential to spoil an otherwise well assorted exterior the Sonoran Sunshine drained the color out of them this issue was so widespread that the design Department kept a pile of bleach tops in the corner of the office it also didn't integrate very well with the rest of the design some dealers lacking the support to the Reps of a hungry dog while a Car and Driver referred to it as a quote-unquote giraffe transporter with a Top-Up no doubt the biggest Merc against it was its Mass Appeal or lack thereof it didn't matter how much power it had or how sharp the handling was an open top car will always be a tough sail for the masses their machines have compromised and thus sinners in luxury objects that many lust after but few can justify a closed body car might have very well been the Rancier it could be more practical provide Superior weatherproofing and be more structurally stiff best of all both cars could be produced at the same time since they'd likely appeal to different customer bases the Datsun Sports could remain in the lineup as an Enthusiast Delight the unnamed Coupe would be there for those wanting a sporting character and a more sensible package for years katayama and kabagoe begged the product planners in Japan for curves designed with the Western mind little did they know something in that vein was right around the corner designer yoshihiko matsuo has always been a strong-willed person back in his youth his father discouraged him from pursuing a career in design he felt that the Outlook was uncertain and pushed yoshihiko to work at a more conventional field instead of donning a suit and tie he took the entrance exam for the Tokyo University of the Arts in secret he filled not once but twice though he still didn't doubt himself after a slight pivot he earned a seat at hindihon University while in school he was involved in the development of the three wheeled companies such as Daihatsu and Matsushita Electric tried according him after he graduated but in the end he joined Nissan in 1961. his first major assignment here was to design the Datsun baby for Kodomo no Kuni an amusement park in Yokohama it was based on the Coney guppy and intended to teach children about cars in safe Motoring he then worked on an update for the pendant for arena designed for a tin Bluebird which was in a Cell slump management took note of his efforts when the design Department was restructured the following year it was now comprised of four sections the first was for mainstream models the second for large sedans and a third was for luxury cars the fourth oversaw sports cars and the younger matsuo was placed in charge of it he didn't have midi resources at his disposal to start fellow designer Akio Yoshida was the only other member of the department there also wasn't anything in the works at that time the Datsun Sports was already in the middle of its product cycle and there were no plans to work on any new projects in a 2017 interview with Jalopnik matsuo referred to the promotion as being named quote Chief by name only he could also use the relative seclusion to his Advantage by being in their own section the designers would have the ability to quickly get their ideas off the ground without yielding to other voices and boy did they have an idea work on a new sports car began in November of 1965. the process early on was more akin to how a studio would approach a concept of vehicle all a matter of ideas were explored and as a result the development timeline is a bit scattered will be primarily focusing on the progression of two threads Maxwell initially invented a lightweight Roadster based on a 2-liter four-cylinder engine this path is commonly referred to as type A if that sounds familiar to the Datsun Sports 2000 that's because it is a 1973 article in Wheels magazine says that the first proposal was for a roadster that would outright replace it while the 2000 had its own identity it does take after the likes of Triumph and mg this is most evident in the front end treatment it has a prominent Grill pillowy surfacing and a large upright lab housings if the blunt nose also ends rather abruptly this gets that matsua made in 1965 previews the direction that he had in mind it's decidedly more Italian in its execution with headlight covers a long hood and sharper detailing on the hole The Grille also sits low around the body and is bisected by the bumper guard which goes from an afterthought to a greater part of the overall Design This drawing from early 1966 further reinforces the kind of servicing that they were after it introduces The prominent power Dome on the hood and emphasizes long horizontal lines the prospects of a fixed head Coupe was also explored as evidenced by the sketch from the same year it should look pretty familiar at this point many of the major elements from the previous drawing come together in a softer more Central package the type a proposal was coming together rather quickly but management wanted matua to explore a solution that was based on the outgoing Silvio we'll refer to this one as type B models in this line are characterized by their boxier more conservative styling this full-scale model completed in April of 1966 is pretty much the antithesis of the type a line orthogonal lines dominate in the fixed headlights Grill roof and Hood later type B proposals were softer if only slightly a third series emerged in the middle of 1966. type c cars distinguish themselves from the other lines with their retractable headlamps while this path was shelved near the end of the year traces of the greenhouse and pillar treatment would make the jump to the production car the aforementioned Wheels article also detailed the unusual way that designers were churning out some of their full skill models clay studies are effective in showing how her car will look in third Dimensions but they are also costly and time consuming to put together to maintain their steady stream of models they turned to some other less conventional materials paper bodies were pulled over Wood and Wire frames in addition to allowing them to preview ideas more quickly and cheaply it also LED them quote pursue an ideal Harmony of light color and form in time the project gained a bit of focus the direction previewed in the type A models became the front runner the A5 model completed later in 1966 showcases many of the Z Hallmarks in one form or another the sugar scoop lighthousings come with a form as well Nissan had a great deal of trouble making this part out of metal so they went with fiberglass reinforced plastic using this method they were able to easily make the part at a low cost Nissan would eventually switch over to metal The Cider gills didn't make it much further than this model as they presented further manufacturing issues other details as well as the overall proportions would be altered as well but the fundamental building blocks were finally in place chief engineer Hajime Suite met with the other department leads in April of 1967 with the goal of hashing out a more concrete development timeline they wanted the project wrapped up by August of 1969 while this is an aggressive deadline it wasn't unheard of for a Japanese Sports Coupe of this vintage take the 2000 GT for instance Yamaha Inked a deal with Toyota in July of 1965. in August they finished work on the first prototype a show covers ready in October and after going through its Paces on the racetrack the production model debuted in May of 1967. Nissan could keep to schedule so long as they planned effectively they also had two engines in mind for it the base power plant would be the 1.6 liter four-cylinder l16 engine the 2-liter l20 inline 6 would be positioned above it at the time harsh engine displacement taxes discourage Japanese automakers from exceeding a displacement of two leaders the engineering team briefly considered selling one equipped with the y40v8 in the US though low demand and assembly line difficulties spelled an end to the idea although it was still too early to know down the retail price they did want to Target a face figure of about twenty five hundred dollars at that price point it was almost dead on with a sports 1600. while they're planned in this regard would it change further along in the process it does reveal where Nissan wanted to position it in the market this was at odds with the wishes of Nissan's Japanese sales arm which wanted something that was more on par with the 2000 GT that car was one of the most prestigious machines in Japan at the time dealers were probably kicking themselves for leaving the spotlight to Toyota in hindsight it was probably a wise move on Nissan's part to try and penetrate the other end of the market with a more accessible product another meeting took place in July here they decided to focus on three body styles priority would be given to the coop while convertible and two plus two variants would be developed in the background making good on their strict price projections proved to be a serious challenge they reused parts from other models whenever possible hitoshi uemura a member of the development team recalled an exchange he had with one of their supply players during an earlier projects the front suspension of the Datsun Sports was very similar to that of the 310 Bluebird save for an added front stabilizer this single change nearly doubled the cost for the Z they'd use whatever Nissan had lying around the l16 engine that was being considered had already seen use in the 510 the single cam l20 came from the Gloria and Skyline while the Dual cam s20 was also used in the Skyline GTR expert markets would get the l24 straight 6. this was essentially an l16 with an extra set of cylinders attached this was essentially an l16 with an extra set of cylinders attached Nissan had to do a bit of surgery it did need a longer block crank and overhead camshaft but it was largely made up of existing components in the book Datsun fear lady Roadster to 280ZX the zeokart story Brian long goes on to say the l16 was a forest loader version of the Mercedes-Benz a single overhead cam 6 which print had built under license before the Nissan Takeover in effect this new engine was almost the same as the original bins unit the four-speed manual transmission that would be standard equipment in in the American Market was derived from the unit in the 510 it was strengthened so that it could withstand the extra power it also borrowed the front suspension from the Laurel along with a strut from the 510 even though the Z shares a fair bit with a stablemates it still manages to carve out its own identity it's truly worth much more than the sum of its parts market research was also a critical part of the process instead of Designing the card in a relative vacuum the team surveyed their potential customer base to find out what was important to them they ask about their preferred seating arrangement and interior appointments as well as if they would have any interest in an open top of variant researchers even broke down the income brackets and lifestyles of those most likely to buy interior space and ergonomics were major priorities optimizing both of these areas would be key to maximizing the car's appeal to this end they created four two-dimensional mannequins that represented American and Japanese males and females the cars for each market were very similar on the inside though there were a few minor differences the steering wheel needed to be moved back a few inches for American spec disease the budget didn't allow them to make the stern location adjustable to compromise they pushed the steering wheel back by 2.36 inches for cars destined for the United States Additionally the seat rolls were installed about three and a half inches further back in American cars their work to make the Z more livable would have been for not if it weren't practical Nissan wasn't going after their typical sports car enthusiast those people had other more practical cars that could be used on a more frequent basis the company figured that the person in the market for a z couldn't afford such a luxury so it would need as much space as possible so that it could be used on a daily basis the team set a target of about 10 and a half cubic feet of cargo room uimuda says that this would be enough to accommodate a set of the largest commercially available suitcases as well as two Boston bags the Porsche 911 would stay used as a model for this metric when the front trunk and back seats were taken together it's had a total capacity of 11.65 cubic feet conceptual designed work traced back to 1965 but the project wouldn't firmly be approved by management until the closing months of 1967. they might have been reluctant to add yet another card with sporting pretensions to their lineup they already had two in the Dotson Sports and Sylvia the former would have been different from the Z for Regions stated earlier the latter wasn't expensive hand-built Coop that was not intended for the American Market even though te ichihara was confident in the business plan he did not want to take any chances when dealing with management his account went something like this the prince r380a Mark II set 7 World Records while testing at yatabe Proving Grounds in October of 1967. management expressed interest in placing a version of its six-cylinder GR8 engine in one of Nissan's production cars the skyline what's up for consideration but they also wanted to see how it would fare and occur like the doubts in sports engineering was given two weeks to come up with a prototype for evaluation the end result was a bit to be desired its wheelbase had to be lengthened to accommodate the larger engine throbing the overall proportions of the higher-ups cooled off on the idea once they laid eyes on it but Hara had something else to show them a little ways away was a car under recovering they removed it to reveal AZ prototype Hada explained that it could be of interest to them because it was designed around a six cylinder from the outset the plan worked management officially approved the project in November of 1967. several adjustments were made to the plan at this point they decided to build the Z Cube alongside the Datsun Sports to make this strategy work there would have to be a greater separation between the two lines the l16 engine was dropped from the Z line the engine hierarchy will be explained in Greater detail a bit later for now just know that domestic models would primarily use 2-liter engines while export models would be equipped with the l24 Nissan also went full steam ahead on the coupe and ceased development on the other body styles it was a bit of a shame because the convertible had gotten pretty far along in the process five prototypes for me to test the envy and top operation an open top car would have obviously encroached upon the doubts in sports though there were other reasons for this decision increasingly stringent safety wrecks in the U.S clouded the future outlook of convertibles there was a fear among automakers that they could be banned out right management was also under the impression that a convertible would have been too expensive they even went as far as to cancel a planned sunroof model the more reusable two plus two was also put on ice at least for now with this step out of the way the road to production was finally open the origin story of how the car earned its name may as well be an urban legend at this point it goes that Nissan president katsuji kawamata saw the musical my fair lady in 1958 while he was in New York City he became enamored with it so much so that the spl212 took on the name in 1960. the logic was that people that heard the name would make the connection to the Broadway production it never caught on with Americans the name was only used there until they received the sp310 at this point the car became known as the sports 1500 Nissan decided to reserve the fair lady name for SB 310s sold in Japan it made a little more sense to use it out here in Nissan's Home Market it gave the Roadster an international Flair in post-war Japan with the automotive industry was still fighting its footing this went a long way in establishing the name within the national psyche it was the perfect name for an aspirational car like that the automaker took this even further a bit later in the decade when they set up a gallery at the San ibuilding in Tokyo's Ginza district binsu from Japanese Nostalgia car lack into this part of the city to Times Square in the Big Apple the quote-unquote miss fairladies that staffed this trendy showroom had the knowledge and training to Shepherd the country's growing motoring population Nissan apparently held an internal naming competition for the upcoming sports coupe president kawamata quashed this plan and insisted on selling it under the fair lady umbrella its internal name of Z would carry over to separate it from its rack top sibling they took a far more conventional approach for other markets internationally it would be known as the Datsun 240Z the name hints at the 2.4 liter engine under the hood in the U.S where their cars primarily used numeric designations it fit right in with the rest of the lineup the Z's most important test had yet to pass Nissan did what it could to make sure it could endure the wide range of weather conditions found in the American Market Northeastern states were gripped by brutal Winters while the Southwest had to deal with sweltering heat and that's to say nothing about the country's ever-expanding interstate system there is only so much the company could do without having boots on the ground out there this changed late in 1969 a pair of production prototypes were shipped out to Los Angeles if they were to undergo a grueling three-month evaluation to see if the Z could stand up to the challenges the five-person team would also inform those in Japan of any defect that they came across Nissan usually kept these kinds of tests Under Wraps for instance they'd have to conceal the car under recovering and only be able to drive it at night a special exception was made for the Z they had permission to test it and brought daylight without any camouflage identifying insignias were to place on the cars so as long as they were tight-lipped about the car there was little risk in them getting found out the team was still a bit paranoid so they asked Nissan America to rent them out of warehouse for the duration of the trial hitoshi uemura took one of the cards onto Harbor Freeway after one employee reported a rattle during operation It could only be detected at around 80 miles an hour naturally uemura needed to draft like a madman in order to maintain that speed he weaved in and out of traffic lanes and treated the speed limit as a mere suggestion an unusual noise did eventually come through imperceptible at first the rattle soon became unbearable he wasn't exactly sure what was causing the issue though that was the least of his problems a police officer spotted the car and flagged the speeding uamura town when he rolled down the window he wanted to know why he was going so fast he was perhaps a bit too honest revealing that he was testing a yet to be released card he also explained that he was only driving that matter because he needed to uncover an issue then the conversation took a strange turn instead of pressing him further on his aggressive driving habits or just writing him a ticket the cop took a serious interest in the card he wanted to know who made it how much it was going to cost and when it was said to be released while the exact starting price never came out wimuda did say that it wouldn't be too far off from a standard passenger car then the officer looked around the car and said really in that case I guess I could afford to buy one he then told him to be more careful out there before letting him off the hook considering he could have been arrested or had the car towed away the situation played out very well later on Engineers determined the cause of the vibration it stemmed from a combination of a dynamic imbalance of the tires and a force stemming from the drive shaft they worked on a fix for these issues in the meantime the test team carried on with their evaluation the first route on the itinerary was a John through Southern California with the prevalence of imported cars in this region mini 240Z would certainly find themselves in this environment it was imperative that the cars could withstand The Soaring temperatures the team drove both test cars through Death Valley normally they'd only take one of them out but this was done as a safety precaution they were on a rarely used stretch of road so if something happened to the car then they could be in grave danger fortunately nothing went wrong though they did find that the air conditioning was less than adequate it wasn't powerful enough to cool the entire cockpit as a compromise they advised A system that pointed cold air directly at the occupant it kept everyone cool so it was approved the next test saw to make the trip from LA to L.A that's Los Angeles to Louisiana this 4300 mile Trek was intended to test its Grand Touring abilities it had to be ready to go on a weekend getaway at a moment's notice passes through Arizona New Mexico and Texas would also serve as additional heat stress tests on the way katayama wanted the traveling party to show the car to a certain Datsun dealership the stadium wasn't specified but based on what happened there I think it was somewhere in Texas the manager was anticipating them and gave everyone a cowboy hats when they arrived the self-proclaimed car boys wrapped up their Voyage without encountering any major issues the final leg of the test was a 6200 mile round trip to Dawson Creek in British Columbia that was intended to check disease cold weather endurance originally the team wanted to drive all the way to Anchorage but they were running short on time on the way they passed through Sacramento Seattle Vancouver Edmonton and Jasper temperatures got to as low as 5 degrees Fahrenheit which was actually a bit warmer than they were expecting about 50 defects were found across their 12 000 miles of testing some were addressed though others such as the unpleasant Highway vibrations required a more drastic countermeasures these issues notwithstanding the Z maintained its Poise throughout the trial and showed that it could succeed at the market it was finally ready for action foreign 240Z made its first public appearance on October 22 1969 at the Pierre Hotel in New York coverage from The New York Times was rather cut and dry though it did compare the overall form to Jaguars machines it also earned praise from the LA Times the fair lady Z debuted at the Tokyo Motor Show several days later Nissan actually unveiled three versions of the car a base model a high performance variant and the expert spec 240Z now is as good a time as any to discuss the Z hierarchy it was offered in three trim levels when it was launched in the Japanese markets the standard model was priced at 930 000 Japanese Yen and was equipped with the l24 cylinder this engine made 130 horsepower and 126 pound-feet of torque the more luxurious ZL started at a touch over a million Japanese Yen and came with a host of features including a stopwatch clock reclining seats and a heated rear windshield it was also the only model in the range equipped with air conditioning to start above that was the z432 it was the most performance oriented model out of the bunch this car was powered by the 2-liter s20 engine that was derived from the unit in the r380 it's also where its name comes from there are four valves per cylinder three carburetors and two overhead camshafts horsepower went up to 160 and torque to 130 pound foot this model had a starting price of about 1.9 million Japanese Yen and about 420 were built in total topping the Z lineup was the z432r the tool is an even more focused machine that was built for racing the radio clock glove box and sound editing material were all removed acrylic panels took the place of all of the glass aside from the windshield all of this resulted in a curb weight of just 1 886 pounds production figures for this model are a bit of a mystery a 2021 Road and track article by Brendan McAleer says that there were about 19 Roto cars and fewer than 50 examples in total these are Far and Away the most valuable s30s in existence one sold for a staggering 88.5 million Japanese yen in 2020 which translates to about 800 000 US dollars the furlady Z lineup would see a significant change in October of 1971 when they decided to sell the 2.4 liter model in the Japanese Market this version of the car was referred to as the fair lady 240Z this also signaled the arrival of the 240zg according to an article from sports car market Nissan needed to build at least 500 of them in order to satisfy a group for homologation requirements its unique nose settled apart from the other cars in the range officially dubbed the Aero Dino nose it featured headlamp coverings and an FRP extension that increased the car's length by 190 millimeters it also dramatically improved the aerodynamics the standard Z had a coefficient of drag of 0.467 while the zg had a CD of about 0.39 the FRP wheel wells also extended the width by 60 millimeters Nissan didn't offer the 240zg outside of the Japanese Market it couldn't be sold in the U.S for a few reasons firstly the headlamp covers weren't allowed under the country's safety rugs the nose extension also reduced the radiator opening apparently it was available as a dealer installed option the 2.4 liter engine was only an offer in the Japanese Market until September of 1973. the Z lineup was simpler in the U.S all models were powered by the 2.4 liter l24 engine which had 150 horsepower and 146 pound-feet of torque it had a starting price of 3526 for comparison's sake the Datsun supports 1600 cost 2766 dollars while the 2000 came in at 3096 it's seemed as if there was enough separation between the model lines for them to all ago exist the Z production began in the latter half of 1969. demand quickly outstripped their 2 000 unit per month projection interest for the car in the U.S was incredibly strong according to a 1971 Road and track article the KBB retail price reused the 1970 model was well over four thousand dollars there were even rumors that a dealer had marked a zeop to ten thousand dollars Nissan couldn't build them fast enough even after they raised their production Target to 4 000 a month in August of 1970 they decided to seize Dotson Sports production and convert those lines to building the Z it was a no-brainer by this point they'd sent about sixteen thousand two forties to the United States compared to just 1 285 roadsters after the change in tooling they'd have the capacity to build 7 500 at 240Z a month it would just Smash Hit with the public but how would the motoring press come around to it First Impressions were quite favorable Ron Wakefield called it a bargain in the 1970 edition of Road and track magazine he praised the generous level of standard equipment and strong performance figures before saying that he thought Datsun had a winner on its hands Car and Driver actually got behind the wheel and published their findings in June they were pleasantly surprised at how well thought out everything was the driving position and instrument placement were excellent its interior appointments also earned High marks with some testers noting that the cockpit made the car seem more expensive than it actually was minimal road noise only reinforced these Notions practicality was also a strong point the rear hat revealed a carnivorous luggage compartment that even had tied out straps to secure smaller items further on the magazine declared that quote the 240Z sets the new standard for utility in two passenger cars of this price actual driving Impressions were a mixed bag it understood more in right turns than in left turns though they chalked this up to an isolated incident that particular car had expanders in the left front spring to overcome a sag the atrocious directional stability was more concerning at high speeds the car would sway left and right while it wasn't anything that current driver Personnel couldn't handle it was still unbefitting of a touring car spongy brakes made slowing down from low speeds problematic stopping power was further stymied in the rain because the water could Splash into the braking system outside of these rather serious issues the Dynamics were decent enough the steering was responsive when they didn't have a mind of its own and the gearbox was excellent they thought the 240Z was worth every penny of its 3 601 test price and potentially more if those shortcomings were ironed out the 240Z even impressed reviewers in Great Britain which had historically been a tough Market to penetrate for Japanese makes in the March 1972 edition of Motorsport magazine writer Andrew Marriott referred to the car as a quote-unquote civilized GT Carriage the no-nonsense IP earned favor with him it also had little trouble accommodating drivers over six feet tall the author notes that this was an area that Japanese cars struggled with perhaps Nissan was trying to appeal to his British sensibilities by sitting at a model finished in racing green but it wasn't necessary the magazine thought highly of it and lamented the fact that their own country didn't build a car that was on par with it the 240Z had received High Praise from the Press but how did it stack up to the competition rodent track would find out in April of 1970. it was part of a five-member shootout that contained a few of its closest competitors the Fiat 124 Coupe had the lowest as tested price of the bunch at 3292 dollars and it had a lot to offer on paper the numbers didn't jump off the page but it was the only one equipped with a five-speed manual and four wheel disc brakes the MGB GT was getting a bit long in the two at this point it had gone on sale in 1966 and the Roadster that it was based on was introduced back in 1962. still the British Thoroughbred was sure to put up a fight its rival from Coventry had a closed body offering that was a bit newer before the 240Z the Triumph GT6 was the only occur among them that had a six-cylinder engine it was also the smallest which was sure to make for a rash's combination last but not least was the Oppo GT the German import was perhaps the most compromised in terms of practicality of course this also meant that it was the lightest of the bunch responsive staring and sharp handling were obvious benefits but it also achieved an impressive 26 miles per gallon each columnist scored the cars on a scale of one to ten in terms of their driving Dynamics interior Comfort visibility and usability the scores were then totaled from each of them and the winner will be selected the 240Z came out on top it absolutely dusted the others in terms of raw numbers the 124 had the next highest horsepower figure with 104 while the GT6 Trout the Z with 117 pound foot rodent track also recorded a 0-60 time of 8.7 seconds which was Far and Away the best of the group for comparison's sake the Oppo GT clocked in just under 12 seconds despite this it wasn't a complete blowout the Europeans made up a bit of ground in some other areas and made things somewhat competitive it just barely edged out the Fiat when the scorecards were added up that car provided Superior steering and handling and even came with a full-size back seat high speed performance remained a serious concern the Aero challenged Coupe could lose its composure in the middle of Crosswinds although the Z still came out of the bout as the winner its slim margin of Victory took Road and track off guard it was the segment Leader by hair and this would become even smaller as the other cards were redesigned Nissan would have to continue to improve upon it to maintain its grasp on the segment and the best way to do this was on the racetrack foreign [Music] was one of the most accomplished racing Machines of its day proving its metal on the circuit as well as in the rally scene Datsun was already making a name for themselves in the scca racing scene the 510 and Datsun Sports found some success but the Z would take the brand to Heights unseen Brock racing Enterprises spearheaded their efforts out west although the club didn't reach for them officially in 1969 they won their division in the scca Pacific coast circuit and earned a spot in the Nationals in Daytona Nissan took notice Brock met with katayama and asked if he had an interest in racing under the Datsun USA Banner he believed in the one on Sunday still on Monday philosophy finding success on the racetrack would help them sell cars and reinforce their image as an exciting company Bob sharp a race car driver and Datsun dealer also got in on the action after scooping up a decommissioned show car it was the first Z to arrive at the US and made the rounds at events all over the country it's time when the spotlight was cut short after a booth model sat on it during a photo shoot and put a dent in the roof sharp planned on giving it a second wind in the scca East Division alas the car's time here was rather uneventful and ended with a complete engine failure it could have been an isolated incident but there was also reason to believe that the issue was more widespread Nissan made a potentially catastrophic oversight scca rules required engines and components that were derived from their production cars they originally intended to use the z432 engine in the circuit but the stipulation drove a stake in those plans the l24 was not designed for this level of competition and there is at least one other reason for them to be concerned biari uncovered a harmonic vibration in the engine the car shook violently under high load and this was more than a minor annoyance Peter Brock said that the vibrations were so brutal that the crank severed itself from the flywheel during a test run at Willow Springs Raceway the team told a Nissan of the issue and was met with radio silence disease racing careers seem to be over but the company's sent over redesigned components at the 11th Hour after this the Z stepped in for the Roadster and once several key races down the stretch bieri punched its ticket to the runoffs at Road Atlanta and went on to win the 1970 national championships it seemed as if they had continued to dominate ssca for years to come but it wasn't meant to be driver John Morton came away with the sea production championship in 1971 before the club disbanded in 73. Bob sharp meanwhile won a 1972 and 1973. the Z was also active on the rally circuit one of its first major efforts in this role was their entrance into the 1973 RAC rally in London there was no shortage of teething issues for The burgeoning Works team only one of the four competing 240Z managed to cross the finish line still Rano Alton's Seventh Place finish was decent enough considering the circumstances if the technical issues were worked out the Nissan could prove to be something to worry about several major events were on the docket for 1971. the elements would not be on their side at Monte Carlo blankets of snow and Roads licked with ice would test the skill of both man and machine while they didn't win Nissan did see more than one car complete the race all Toad and finished fifth while a teammate followed Tony came in 10th the East African safari rally was a different Beast altogether it was the most demanding race on the calendar machines needed to keep their cool under the sweltering Kenyan Sun the road surface also proved to be a serious obstacle drivers kicked clout of dust into the air obscuring The View ahead for the Unfortunate Souls trailing them 91 cards enter the race in 1971 and just 19 managed to finish while a Nissan did win the event that year that car with a 1600 SSS there was no telling how the new Z Would fare under these conditions it would be understandable if they couldn't finish it the first time around and that is not what happened instead Nissan finished first second and seventh they also made history by becoming the first company to claim the overall Victory team Victory and manufacturer's championship in back-to-back years [Music] the 240Z was the right car at the right time an outclass that's contemporaries in many respects offering strong performance and unrivaled practicality in an affordable package it was a Smash Hit but how long would this be the case the 1970s were a period of massive upheaval for the automotive industry mini 60 sports cars were altered beyond recognition once they crossed into the new decade with the same be true for the Z thing tremained par for the course at least to start the first major addition came in the form of a three-speed automatic buyers that didn't want to roll their own Gears would have to make some compromises for the privilege Road and track recorded a 0-60 time of 10.4 seconds as well as a fuel economy rating of 19 miles per gallon both of these figures were worse than the standard model in actuality they did find that the experience wasn't that far removed from the stick shift and add to 190 dollars it proved itself as a compelling alternative for those wanting an automatic it was a very popular option among the Z faithful Brian long states that fewer than 10 percent of cars were optioned accordingly things would soon change for the worse a strengthening Yin Rose the cost of many Japanese exports in the Z was no exception by 1972 the sticker price Rose to four thousand one hundred and six dollars safety wrecks were also taking a toll in the car reworked impact bumpers were installed in 1973 which added about 100 pounds to the curb weight new carbs and the inclusion of an exhaust gas recirculation system negatively affected performance horsepower went down to 120 while a torque decreased to 127. this was reflected in its slower 0-60 time Road and track observed the time of 11.9 seconds for late 1973 models Nissan made up some of these losses by an increasingly engine displacement from about 2.4 liters to about 2.6 of course this necessitated a name change the car was now known as the 260Z in export markets again the larger engine was not an offer in Japan figures shot back up to 162 horsepower and 152 pound foot the weight gain and emitted equipment essentially canceled this out California models were detuned to 139 horsepower and 137 pound foot still car magazines thought that it was a better car than a 240Z high speed stability and overall handling were much improved Road and track even declared that the previous model wouldn't be missed and another 260Z amended many of the criticisms that they had of that particular car 1974 also saw the addition of a two plus two model it's 200 pounds heavier than the standard two-seater and the wheelbase is extended by nearly a foot while The Styling doesn't quite stack up to its sibling the two plus two hides the extra weight surprisingly well everything looks the part up to the bplayer instead of gracefully slipping back to the rear deck the roofline abruptly cuts down in an attempt to maintain its sporting looks it could be better but it also could have been a lot worse it also had a softer more subdued character on the road reviewers chalk this up to the extra weight and longer wheelbase American Market cars saw yet another update later in the year units built after September 1st commonly referred to as 1974.5 cars had even larger bumpers that increased the overall length by about 100 millimeters Nissan discontinued it in the US in March the following year and replaced it with a 280Z Nissan made it in response to smothering emission tracks in California as the name implies engine displacement was increased to 2.8 liters performance figures were bumped up to 168 horsepower and 175 pound-feet of torque it was also the first Z to have fuel injection which provided several benefits over the previous carbureted models cold starts became less of a burden the system could detect these conditions and Supply more fuel until the engine warmed up it also improved performance fuel economy and overall drivability in some respects it was the best the Z had ever been in others it was hardly easy at all tumultuous market conditions heavily affected consumer tastes which in turn influenced how automakers made their products this much is seen in the gradual evolution of Nissan sports coupe its curb weight of 2875 pounds was 520 more than that of the original 240Z the two plus two added even more weight but that didn't stop this particular body style from becoming an integral part of the Z lineup from 1974 to 1977 the two plus two made up between a quarter to nearly a third of total sales in the U.S it was also pushed outside of its initial price brackets the two-seater cost nearly 8 900 in the 1978 model year while the two plus two started at just over ten thousand dollars it was far removed from the affordable Runabout that it was envisioned as even still the car became more popular than ever they sold roughly 50 000 cars in 1974. this increased to about 51 000 then 60 and then seventy one thousand in 1977. in addition to showing that consumers still revered the Z name plate it also hinted at where the sports car market was headed with Sky High horsepower numbers seemingly becoming a thing of the past people became more concerned with efficiency space and safety the 240Z took these into consideration during their design process they'd have to lean into those traits even further if they wanted to carry the success into the new decade of course that task would fall to another car the s30 was discontinued after 1978. it sold over 523 000 units worldwide during its time on the market and spearheaded Nissan's emergence in the United States in 1969 they sold just under 87 000 cars in 1978 they sold roughly 433 thousand and there was no sign of them slowing down nothing was guaranteed though competition would be stiffer than ever in the 1980s Mazda Mitsubishi and Toyota would have challenged Nissan for the sports car Crown at home the Detroit 3 eager to win back the American populace Will Come Out Swinging with reimaginings of muscle car Mainstays the likes of Porsha and Audi shall throw their hats into the ring as well I'm even getting reports that a former GM executive will enter the market and that's to say nothing of new regulations and experimental Technologies how will Nissan respond we'll find out in the 80s

Channel: Barchetta

Views: 157,997

Keywords: datsun 240z, nissan 240z, Nissan s30, nissan, datsun, nissan fairlady z, datsun 280z, datsun s30, nissan history, z car, nissan z, datsun z, 240z, fairlady z, fairlady z 432, fairlady z s30, fairlady z 240z, datsun 240z documentary, nissan documentary, classic car documentary, nissan fairlady 240zg, datsun z car, datsn 240z, nissn 240z, car documentary, datsun history, 240z datsun, datsun 240z review, フェアレディz, Barchetta

Id: UKY2KSF1sLc

Length: 52min 42sec (3162 seconds)

Published: Mon Dec 19 2022