The Evolution of the Nissan Z [240Z, 300ZX, 370Z, 400Z?]

the nissan z the humble fair lady as it's known in japan either way the z has been around for over 50 years making it one of the longest running car marks ever created and since day one it has had one goal to be fun to drive it has a lineage that has never deviated from its rear-wheel drive layout a manual transmission and to this day uses six cylinders packed under a long hood to get its point across rodent track even called it the best sports car in the world and you want one and so do i it's just science and here at ideal we wanted to take a look back at one of our favorite cars and its long history and what it has in store for the future can the upcoming 400 z get the bitter taste that the supra has left in our mouths let's find out if you're new here i'm the squid and i'm about to run you through the entire history of the nissan z car so smash that subscribe button down below and let's go [Music] now to really tell you why the z car is important today we have to go all the way back to the early 1960s nissan was going through a ton of changes they had just absorbed prince motor company to get the skyline and gloria names added to their list and we are very happy they did that and during all these changes the madmen at the helmet nissan decided that we needed a new sports car in the world one that would help define who nissan is as a company little did he know how successful at that mission he would become because he was creating the nissan fairlady z now the first generation of the z is actually really the most important one it defined every z car that came after it even 50 years later every z card to this day sticks to the same formula of the first generation it is a lightweight manual transmission rear wheel drive sports car with a six cylinder engine now sure back then it was an inline six not a v6 and it wasn't cool enough to have a turbo on it yet but these first gen z's really rocked the world by bringing japanese reliability to the sports car world the nissan fair lady z or the datsun 240z as it's known over here hit the markets in 1969 and people went nuts the 240 and 240z stands for the 2.4 liter engine that powered the z at the time and that naming convention is still going strong to that the s30 generation 240z handled great sounded great [Music] and to this day is still one of those shapes that defines the word sports car seriously these first generation z cars really stood the test of time really only getting better with age like good whiskey from the iconic appearance of the devil z in the anime wang yan midnight to being a dream car of even the most die-hard american muscle car dude in the 70s the s30z was one of the first japanese sports cars to really have mass appeal it featured a fully independent front and rear suspension which really broke the mold of sports cars back in the 60s it's smooth running 2.4 liter l24 engine made upwards of 151 horsepower which made it a pretty thrilling car to own and drive in 1970 and its most important feature was that it was cheap we love cheap here it was an affordable sports car legend and today it's still an affordable sports car thanks there being so many of these sold back in the day so if you want one for yourself you can expect to pay around 12 grand for a decent example sure you could buy two used 350z for that price and have a build off with one of your buddies or something which uh brad that would be really fun let's do that but with a 350z you're not gonna have that same pure driving experience you get from carving a canyon in a classic z car now the s30 generation did not end with just the beloved 240z in the mid 70s nissan also released the 260z and 280z aesthetically the body remained mostly the same they changed the bumpers out people really hate the newer bumpers but they're all pretty much the same the larger 2.6 and 2.8 liter engines add a little extra oomph to the z but it was kind of a break even as the cars got more luxurious and a little heavier so no matter which model you get you're gonna get about the same performance and the 280z even features bosch fuel injectors instead of carburetors which if you're like me i owned a carbureted car once and then it got cold and it didn't run right and i didn't know what the hell to do with it and no one knows how to work on carburetors it's kind of a disaster so maybe keep that in mind if you're shopping for an s30 now the massive success of the 240z continued through to the 280z giving nissan the confidence it needed to completely rebuild the car from scratch when it started its next generation generation x because you know it's called a 280zx it's edgier yes nissan decided to call their next generation of the 280z the 280zx and the x stood for luxury which means the zx's were a little bit heavier a kind of bloat that kind of started at the tail end of the previous generation see americans they really wanted a more luxurious performance car than a stripped-down sports car like the 240z now even though they slapped a snail on the 280zx in the 80s the z was kind of losing its sports harness and kind of turning into a touring car the second generation z though was still a fantastic car people love to hate on the second gen but they're missing out because it's actually a really great car when it came out the awards were piling up car of the year best import car of the year best value you name it and sure maybe it's a little heavy and with its age the wiring likes to kind of fall apart but today they're a great value and probably one of your cheapest options if you want to own a piece of classic japanese history unlike the celicas and a86s that have skyrocketed in price over the last few years or the fb and fcrx7s which literally no clean examples exist anymore you can still buy a decent example 280zx for under 10 grand even today now in 1983 the second generation z was kinda getting a little competition so nissan got to work they ditched the datsun name redesigned the platform and rolled out the new 300zx the third generation z had a boatload more power and the wedge-shaped design that is kind of an acquired taste which i have acquired i think they look sick it's just so 80s and i love it new for the z's this was the first one that had a v6 instead of an inline six they also modernized the z with mcpherson struts bigger turbos a nicer sound system and like a cool digital instrument gauge at the time the z31 300x was kind of the car of the future that meant that this new 300zx had more power nicer features handled better and was way nicer inside than the previous generations what it did share with its previous generations was its penchant for getting awards the z31 was a crowd blazer and a critic lover snatching the car of the year from some of its heavyweight competitors like the fcr x7 and the mark iii supra which it looked pretty similar to by 1987 turbos and limited slip differentials were standard on the z31 and by 1988 the shiro edition 300zx was the fastest production car to come out of japan and it had clout too regularly taking home the number one spot in the imsa gtp class this fantastic combination of high horsepower and good sales numbers means that it's an incredible value today and one of the best values if you want to buy a jdm 80s icon firstly because unlike the mazda and toyotas they're actually clean examples still in existence i think that's because the z31 kind of appealed to those like muscle car collector dudes in america and so they kept them relatively clean we were able to find this naturally aspirated example with sixty thousand miles for under seven grand i mean that car is like practically brand new now if you want the extra power of a turbo expect to hand over some serious cash for example here's the 300 zx anniversary edition that sold and bring a trailer for around 13 grand just remember not to roll your eyes too hard when some of the jdm fanboys ask you why you didn't buy a supra instead now one of the biggest problems with the z31 generation 300 zx is that it's often overshadowed by its younger sibling you know the first production car ever designed by a computer the 300zx part dude compared to the first generation of 300zx the 300zx part 2 was a massive step forward you see the early 90s was the golden age of jdm cars mitsubishi had the 3000 gt toyota had the mark 4 supra mazda had the fdr x7 and honda had a speed wedge of its own the honda nsx now nissan also had the nissan skyline but since we couldn't get those here in america we had to make view with the 300zx otherwise known as the corvette killer what does it take to be a corvette killer you ask well for one thing you need to make more horsepower than a corvette and the twin turbo variable valve timing v6 in the z32 did that with no problem cranking out 300 ponies compared to the corvette's 245 but you also need to have better handling than gm's masterpiece well car and driver called the best sports car in the world after driving it so it's kind of hard to argue with that and lastly you need to have a better interior than anything gm in the early 90s could pump out and i'll admit that is an insanely low bar but the z32 cleared that by miles with its fighter jet inspired cockpit that kind of wrapped around you you really feel like a badass driving a z32 at least i did when i owned one now the z32 came in two body styles the four seater two plus two that no one really wants but it did have t-tops or the slick tops which are a two-seater proper sports car now the bad news my friends is these fourth generation z's are starting to appreciate and it seems like if you want to buy one you have two options wow i should have kept my car the undesirable but still very cool to drive non-turbo which will run you around ten thousand bucks right now for a really good example i bought mine for three grand or if you want the twin turbo model you're gonna spend around 15 grand to start with and the sky is really the limit of these because they are just iconic now nowadays the 300 zx z32 doesn't have the following quite as much as the other jdm heroes of the time but that's good news for you because they're about the 10th the price of a comparable supra and a big reason they're not so popular is because they are an absolute nightmare to work on believe me i know i owned one i worked on one the engine bay is packed tighter than a coleman sleeping bag where you try to jam it in there and it never goes back in even the simplest maintenance can be a multi-day escapade of cut hands and loss tools i guess that's the drawback of having a car designed by computers is that computers don't have hands now after nissan kind of lost the jdm horsepower wars with the z32 they discontinued the car in the states in 1996 and kind of took a break from the z name for a little while but they were scheming in the background because after five long and arduous years without a fair lady nissan was back and they were out to prove that they still had it with a new correct wheel drive with a manual transmission you know those things we gotta save lightweight two-seater with a six-cylinder motor the nissan 350z if you want the best sports car bargain that you can get for under 10 grand today this is it this is the one don't even at me with an m3 you can't get one of those under 10 grand anymore and that's not even a sports car and that sports car distinction is really important here because with every generation after the 240z the z line kept getting more weighed down with luxury until this fat wide z32 came out and then basically it wasn't a sports car anymore and they cost a lot too a base 300 zx cost 40k that's like a billion dollars in today's money no the new 350z was a true return to form they dropped the x which means they dropped the luxury and they cut the price nearly in half nissan had the porsche boxster squarely in its crosshairs and when the 350z was launched to the eagerly awaiting public it freaking ruled today it's taken home trophies in formula drift it's starred in tokyo drift and has dominated sanctioned racing pretty much everywhere and today they're one of the best entry-level sports cars that enthusiasts can buy if you want a little more horsepower than a miata the vq motor is actually fairly easy to work on and pretty much anyone can give you a hand with it and there are more mods for the 350z than pretty much any car ever i know nissan never brought a new silvia for us in the states but the 350z still kept the cheap fun fast car dream alive for us and that dream can live on for you too check out this one we found on cars.com signature solar orange paint a manual transmission decent miles all for under 10 000 bucks but don't be too afraid of the high mileage ones either because that vq engine can take a beating so if you're a little strapped for cash you can check out something like this screaming red in manual for less than 6000 bucks you can't beat that just uh get on the bandwagon fast because i think these are going to start going up in value very soon now in 2008 we saw the end of the z33 generation and luckily unlike the z32 there was no wait for the next one enter the 370z we'll start with numbers the 370z got a bigger v6 it's only you know 0.2 liters but it was good for an extra 30 horsepower and not only that the 370z was smaller lighter and dairy say it better looking it has a more aggressive styling it's less blocky and it really looks like it's going to eat the competition and it will this is the 350z matured into a modern desirable aggressive sports car and on the inside is where things got really spicy see the 350z was all function and no form it was a total plastic rush job that sacrificed a lot to keep the price down and the sports up the 370z was a major upgrade in this regard and it even came with paddle shifters you know if for some reason you bought it without a manual transmission which why would you do that for those who do want the extra driving engagement that a six-speed manual offers the sixth generation z even featured rev matching just uh you know don't tell your friends they'll think you're doing those perfect heel toe shifts every time now i can hear what you're thinking you want one so do i the good news is they aren't very expensive even though they do hold their value really well they weren't actually that expensive to begin with and you can grab one today for a little bit more than the 350z counterpart so why wouldn't you you can grab a used one like this that's a really good example for around 16 grand and the good news is if you don't want to use one you can still buy a new one today for around 30k but the sixth generation of the z is definitely starting to show its age and nissan as an overall brand has kind of lost a lot of its shine nowadays most things you hear about nissan are people complaining about their cvt transmissions or the styling of the nissan juke or is it like a kicks now serial right well great news after years of teasing us nissan has confirmed that the 400z is coming to replace the aging 370z and it has got us really excited nissan has really made a point to make sure that the 400z reignites that love that the 240z put into the hearts of millions and how do you get millions of people to love your car well you give it a manual transmission you make sure it's rear-wheel drive and it has a v6 under the hood and not just any v6 in honor of the z32 generation this 400z will feature a twin-turbo v6 that pumps out 400 horsepower and that is likely why it's named the 400z this will be the first car to break with the tradition of engine size being name you know because displacement wars are kind of over the engine is likely to be the infinity red sport engine which is a 3 liter twin turbo pumping at around 400 horsepower it is a fantastic engine the q50 has the same one and does a 0-60 in about 4.5 seconds and the q50 is quite hefty we're expecting that engine get a tune-up and being a lighter chassis so closer to 4 seconds flat for 0-60 is not outside the reality and the z's exterior styling is really really deep in that retro vibe it has the classic silhouette of a fair lady mixed with a bunch of styling cues that throw back to previous generations and nissan is not messing around they've promised that the new 400z is gonna come in at a really low price point looks like the new bmw super z4 has a lot of competition coming in at a lower price are we excited yes are you excited you better be i mean a new z to rival the supra are the jdm horsepower awards reigniting where's the new rx7 mazda and where's the new 3000 gt mitsubishi either way we're really excited about where the z is going from here the z's been around so long that'll always hold a special place in our hearts for every generation there's kind of one for anyone at any age my generation grew up on the badass 90s 300 zx a lot of you watching this probably grew up looking at pictures of the 350z or watching them in formula drift and with the 370z being 10 years old it's likely what a lot of you think of when you think of z cars so what do you think what's your favorite generation of the nissan z let us know down below and what do you think about these evolutions of car videos we've made a couple of them now let us know down in the down there part if you like them and while you're down there hit the like button smash the subscribe button i don't really have to smash it be nice to the subscribe button but click it anyway and as always keep living the ideal lifestyle i'm out of here

Channel: Ideal Cars

Views: 592,131

Rating: 4.9166427 out of 5

Keywords: evolution of the nissan z, nissan, 240z, 300zx, 260z, 280z, 370z, nissan z, nissan 350z, nissan 370z, 350z, nissan fairlady z, z32, nismo, fairlady, 280zx, jdm, nissan 240z, nissan 300zx, nissan 400z, skyline, drifting, cars, s30, datsun, l24, l26, datsun 240z, datsun 280z, nissan gtr, datsun 260z, 300z, nissan motor, nissan z 2020, nissan 2022, gtr, godzilla, v6, exhaust, drift, s130, z31, z33, z34, z35, l28, vq35de, sports car, datsun 280zx, 400z 2021, 400z reveal, 400z review, 400z nismo

Id: 89J8YgSzg4M

Length: 16min 35sec (995 seconds)

Published: Fri Feb 26 2021