Z-car usually refers to a series of sports cars manufactured by Nissan Motors Ltd.. Sales started in Oct. of 1969. Sold in Japan as the Nissan Fairlady Z, they were exported as the Datsun 240-Z.
The Nissan Fairlady Z used a 2000 cc L20A engine, the export Datsun 240Z used a 2400cc L24 engine. Nissan also offered a limited production performance model in Japan in two configurations; the Nissan Fairlady Z-432 and 432R. The Fairlady 432's were powered by a DOHC 2.0 liter S20 engine.
Even with their good looks, reliability, and strong performance, they have been remarkably affordable automobiles. The Nissan Z cars also currently hold the record of best selling sports car series of all time with around 1,685,000 in five generations.
First generation (S30)
Production of the Nissan Z Car started on October 1969, with 2 separate versions: one for the Japanese market and one for the US market. The Japanese Fairlady Z featured a SOHC L20A inline-6 producing 130 hp (97 kW), while the US 240Z had a L24 inline-6 with twin SU carburetors that produced 151 hp (113 kW). A third Z, the 432Z(PS30) shared a performance version of the DOHC 2.0 liter S20 engine with the Skyline GT-R.
In Japan, the car was still known as the Fairlady to keep in line with past Nissan sports cars; Katayama fought furiously to have all American badging replaced with "DATSUN" and refused all dealers to receive cars until he had done so.
The 240Z was released in America on October 22, 1969, and became an instant hit. Combining good looks, powerful performance, and luxury features, it sold over 45,000 units through the 71 model year and over 50,000 and 40,000 in 1972 and 1973, respectively.
1974 saw the Datsun Z's engine displacement increased to 2.6 liters, bringing a name change to Datsun 260Z, as well as a 2+2 model. Despite the engine size increase, power went down to 139 in the most areas of the US market thanks to new camshafts, carburetors and lower compression in the face of stiffening emissions regulations. In other export regions the power was increased to 154 hp (115 kW).
In 1975, the Datsun 280Z was offered in North America (not to be confused with the 280ZX, which is a second-generation Z-car) with another engine displacement enlargement to 2.8 liters. A major change was the introduction of Bosch fuel injection, replacing the previous SU carbs. This resulted in a power increase to 170 hp (130 kW), enough to offset the added luxury and enlarged bumpers to meet US Federal regulations. Export markets outside North America continued to receive the Datsun 260Z until the introduction of the Datsun 280ZX at the end of 1978.
Production of the Nissan Z Car started on October 1969, with 2 separate versions: one for the Japanese market and one for the US market. The Japanese Fairlady Z featured a SOHC L20A inline-6 producing 130 hp (97 kW), while the US 240Z had a L24 inline-6 with twin SU carburetors that produced 151 hp (113 kW). A third Z, the 432Z(PS30) shared a performance version of the DOHC 2.0 liter S20 engine with the Skyline GT-R.
In Japan, the car was still known as the Fairlady to keep in line with past Nissan sports cars; Katayama fought furiously to have all American badging replaced with "DATSUN" and refused all dealers to receive cars until he had done so.
The 240Z was released in America on October 22, 1969, and became an instant hit. Combining good looks, powerful performance, and luxury features, it sold over 45,000 units through the 71 model year and over 50,000 and 40,000 in 1972 and 1973, respectively.
1974 saw the Datsun Z's engine displacement increased to 2.6 liters, bringing a name change to Datsun 260Z, as well as a 2+2 model. Despite the engine size increase, power went down to 139 in the most areas of the US market thanks to new camshafts, carburetors and lower compression in the face of stiffening emissions regulations. In other export regions the power was increased to 154 hp (115 kW).
In 1975, the Datsun 280Z was offered in North America (not to be confused with the 280ZX, which is a second-generation Z-car) with another engine displacement enlargement to 2.8 liters. A major change was the introduction of Bosch fuel injection, replacing the previous SU carbs. This resulted in a power increase to 170 hp (130 kW), enough to offset the added luxury and enlarged bumpers to meet US Federal regulations. Export markets outside North America continued to receive the Datsun 260Z until the introduction of the Datsun 280ZX at the end of 1978.
Production of the Nissan Z Car started on October 1969, with 2 separate versions: one for the Japanese market and one for the US market. The Japanese Fairlady Z featured a SOHC L20A inline-6 producing 130 hp (97 kW), while the US 240Z had a L24 inline-6 with twin SU carburetors that produced 151 hp (113 kW). A third Z, the 432Z(PS30) shared a performance version of the DOHC 2.0 liter S20 engine with the Skyline GT-R.
In Japan, the car was still known as the Fairlady to keep in line with past Nissan sports cars; Katayama fought furiously to have all American badging replaced with "DATSUN" and refused all dealers to receive cars until he had done so.
The 240Z was released in America on October 22, 1969, and became an instant hit. Combining good looks, powerful performance, and luxury features, it sold over 45,000 units through the 71 model year and over 50,000 and 40,000 in 1972 and 1973, respectively.
1974 saw the Datsun Z's engine displacement increased to 2.6 liters, bringing a name change to Datsun 260Z, as well as a 2+2 model. Despite the engine size increase, power went down to 139 in the most areas of the US market thanks to new camshafts, carburetors and lower compression in the face of stiffening emissions regulations. In other export regions the power was increased to 154 hp (115 kW).
In 1975, the Datsun 280Z was offered in North America (not to be confused with the 280ZX, which is a second-generation Z-car) with another engine displacement enlargement to 2.8 liters. A major change was the introduction of Bosch fuel injection, replacing the previous SU carbs. This resulted in a power increase to 170 hp (130 kW), enough to offset the added luxury and enlarged bumpers to meet US Federal regulations. Export markets outside North America continued to receive the Datsun 260Z until the introduction of the Datsun 280ZX at the end of 1978.
Second generation (S130)
The only thing that was left unchanged from the previous 280Z was the 5-speed manual transmission and 2.8-liter L28 inline-6 engine, while the entire car overall was made more luxurious to meet growing consumer demands. Major changes for this new generation of Z-cars include t-tops, introduced in 1980, and a turbocharged model introduced in 1981, complementing the naturally aspirated (NA) 2-seater and NA 2+2 models. Coupled to either a 3-speed automatic or 5-speed manual transmission, the turbocharged model was capable of 180 bhp (130 kW) and 203 ft·lbf (275 N·m) of torque, over the 135 bhp (101 kW) and 144 ft·lbf (195 N·m) of the NA engine.
Notable models include the 10th Anniversary Edition, featuring gold emblems, gold alloy wheels, and two-toned paint in either gold/red and black, with luxury features such as leather seats, headlamp washers, and automatic climate control.
The 280ZX was wildly popular, being hailed as Motor Trend's Car of the Year for 1979 and going on to set a Z-car sales record of 86,007 units in its first year. While on the one hand it received universal praise for taking the Z-car to further levels of comfort and performance, many enthusiasts also lamented the further emphasis on luxury over driving fun. This would continue with the third generation of Z-car, with a clean-sheet redesign that would take the Z-car to further heights.
Third generation (Z31)
The Z-car was completely redesigned in 1984, and introduced Nissan's new series of 3.0-liter V6 engine, dubbed the VG series. The same engine was used in the Electramotive (later to become NPTI) GTP ZX-Turbo that dominated the IMSA GTP races in 1988 and 1989. These were available in both VG30E naturally-aspirated and VG30ET turbocharged forms producing 160 and 200 bhp (120 and 150 kW) respectively, although some VG30ET powered Z-cars exported outside of the US produced 228 bhp (170 kW) due to a longer cam duration and less emission restrictions. These were showcased in sleek new wedge-shaped styling and given a new name, the 300ZX. Like its predecessor, it also proved to be wildly popular and was the second-best selling Z-car in history selling over 70,000 units due in part not only to its new styling but also to even more added luxury features and high performance. When the 300ZX Turbo was released in Japan it offered the highest HP available in a Japanese standard production car at the time.Much like the 280ZX that preceded it, the first-gen 300ZX was thought by enthusiasts as more GT than true sports car. It had improved handling, acceleration, and refinement on the previous model Z car, but still could not rejuvenate the original spirit of the 240Z.
Nissan made various changes and claimed improvements to the Z31 model through its entire production. In 1983 Nissan first offered the 300ZX in Japan. It was introduced in the US one year later. All US-market 1984 model Nissan vehicles carried both Datsun and Nissan nameplates. Along with the arrival of their new flagship sports coupe, Nissan launched an aggressive marketing campaign to promote the brand name change from Datsun to Nissan. The 1984 Models can technically be considered the only year of the "Datsun 300ZX". The 1984 300ZX 50th Anniversary Edition was released in celebration of the company's 50th anniversary year. It was based on the standard 300ZX Turbo, but was outfitted with every luxury feature available, a unique black interior with "bodysonic" leather seats in addition to widened fender flares, requisite badging, rear quarter panel flares, and sixteen-inch (406 mm) wheels (400 mm).
The name for the 50th anniversary edition was "black gold". For the 1985 model year, Nissan dropped the Datsun name brand for good, but the car dealers were still known as Datsun dealers. Paul Newman raced in the 1985 GT1 Challenge and won. This was Newman's 4th national championship. Minor changes were made to the 300ZX including a water-cooled turbocharger, smoked taillights, and body-color bumpers.
The 1986 model saw wider flared wheel wells, and the rear quarter panels were designed specifically to accommodate factory ground effects. 1986 turbo models were equipped with an ordinary hood, markedly losing the turbo "scoop" on the drivers side.
In order to keep up with quickly aging aesthetics, another slight redesign happened in 1987, consisting of new rounded, restyled and longer front and rear bumpers, new headlights, and new tail lights. The black trim on turbo models was now a charcoal instead of gloss black, and 1987 Turbo models came with special "smoked" turbo-finned wheels. All 1987 model year turbo cars also received an upgraded manual transmission, larger and more powerful brakes, and turbo cars produced from 4/87 and later came equipped with a clutch-type limited-slip differential.
For the 1988 models, there were again a few small changes. The turbocharger was switched from the Garrett T3 turbo to a lower-inertia T25 turbo, and the engine from 7.8:1 to an 8.3:1 compression ratio in order to reduce turbocharger spool time and provide instant boost at any usable RPM. The interior aluminum accents and chrome door handles that adorned the earlier cars were dropped in favor of matching color parts. Another special edition, the "Shiro Special" (SS), was released in 1988. It was only available in pearl white (shiro meaning "white" in Japanese). The SS package consisted of analog gauges and climate controls with a black interior, stiffer sway bars, stiffer springs, non-adjustable suspension, special seats (recaro), a viscous-coupling limited slip differential, and a special front lower lip spoiler. This package had no options; all 88SS cars are identical.
The 1989 Models are identical to 1988 models, though somewhat rare because of Nissan winding-down production early in preparation for the second generation 300ZX.
In popular culture
In the manga Wangan Midnight, the main character Akio Asakura street races a heavily tuned Fairlady Z S30 known as the "The Devil Z". The car received that nickname due to its reputation of its past owners dying of accidents. The Devil Z is unnaturally powerful as it has a tuned L28 engine, bored and stroked to 3.1 liters combined with twin turbos, producing about 620 bhp (460 kW). He races his Z on the Shuto Expressway, on a particular stretch called the "Wangan" or "Bayside". Prior to acquiring the Devil Z, Asakura drove a Fairlady Z Z31.
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