The Story Behind The Iconic Nissan Z
Its seen 6 generations
Its seen 6 generations. It turns grown men into boys. And its transformed a single letter into a status symbol. Its the legendary Nissan Z and if you havent driven one yet, you havent truly lived. To grasp the impact and magnitude of Nissans sports icon, you have to go back in time to where it all began
The early sixties Nissan was still a relatively small company when it joined forces with Yamaha to design a new halo sports car prototype that would improve the companys image. By 1964 however Nissan scrapped the project and focused on the development of a more affordable sports car. Already producing a line of Fairlady roadsters, it started planning a new line of GT cars that would be both fast and stylish but also not too expensive via the use of interchangeable parts with other Nissan cars.
The first generation Zs production started towards the end of 1969 with two versions: the Fairlady Z (96kW) for the Japanese market and the Datsun-badged 240Z (113kW) for the US market. It was an instant hit in the States, selling over 45 000 units in 1971 and over 50 000 units in 1972 alone. More tweaks such as increasing the engine size and adding 2+2 models led to the release of the 260Z and 280Z during this period.
The second generation Z was released as the Datsun/Nissan 280ZX in 1978 which left the 280Z engine unchanged but the exterior and interior revamped to make it more luxurious to comply with consumer demands. This generation Z saw the release of T-tops, a turbocharged model and a 10th Anniversary Edition, which featured gold emblems and gold alloy wheels.
In 1984, the Z was completely redesigned to bring us to the third generation, the 300ZX. Sporting a 3.0L V6 engine it offered three variants producing 120kW, 150kW and 170kW respectively. Its new styling, improved performance and extra features made this the second-best selling Z-car in history. It was during this models reign that Nissan aggressively promoted the brands name change from Datsun to Nissan. A special 1984 300ZX 50th Anniversary Edition, marking the companys 50th anniversary year, was released with every luxury feature available.
The fourth generation Z, still retaining the 300ZX name and the V6 engine, was released in 1990. With dual overhead camshafts and VVT, it produced 166kW in naturally aspirated form. The turbo variant, featuring upgraded twin turbochargers now delivered a staggering 224kW. It raked in numerous titles and set sales soaring, hitting the 1 million sales mark in 1990 and making it the all-time best selling sports car. In 1993 Nissan introduced its first convertible Z. The rise of the Yen, soaring sales prices and the SUV-trend saw a decline of sales towards the mid nineties.
From 1997 2002 Nissan shifted focus towards SUVs though it launched the 240Z Concept in 1999 at the North American Auto Show to keep the interest alive. Though it would take the initiative of new CEO, Carlos Ghosn in 2001 to promise reporters that theyd build a new Z and make it profitable.
In 2002 the fifth generation Nissan 350Z was released with a 3.5L V6 engine initially producing 214kW and 371Nm, which was increased to 220kW and 353Nm in 2005 and up to 228kW in 2007. Available as a hard top or soft top it offered 7 trim packages including Base, Enthusiast, Performance, Touring, Grand Touring, Track and Nismo.
The sixth and current Nissan Z, the 370Z was introduced on December 30, 2008. Powered by a 3.7L V6 engine, and partnered with either a 6-speed manual transmission or 7-speed auto with paddle shifters, it delivers 248kW of power and 370Nm of torque, making it the fastest Z yet.
Where will Nissan take its iconic Z sports car next? We can only wait and see.
by: Group1 Nissan
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