Datsun 240Z
When the Datson 240Z was introduced in 1970, it hit the automotive world like a thunderclap--an impact dramatic, stunning, and with a report that reverberated for years. In the 1960s, with the notable exception of the Datsun 510, Japanese cars were popularly disregarded as disposable, cut-rate economy cars with the visceral excitement of a tube of toothpaste. They had difficulty cruising at American interstate speeds and were considered cars for people who couldn't afford a nice, big, beefy American car.
The 240Z changed all of that and ushered in a decade in which the Japanese were to emerge as force with which to be reckoned. With its long, sinuous lines, silky 2.4-liter inline six, fully independent suspension, front disc brakes, and lightweight two-seat hatchback body, the 240Z was a serious sports car that looked and performed like a 7/8-scale Jaguar E-Type at a fraction of the price and with superior reliability. Or, alternatively, the 240Z was as pretty and advanced as the Toyota 2000GT but actually available to the public at large.
Gorgeous, quick, genuinely innovative, and relatively inexpensive, the 240Z was an immediate hit, quickly becoming one of the best-selling sports cars in history--a sales success that would continue even as the Z-cars became steadily bigger, heavier, and softer through the late 1970s and early 1980s.
At the end of the decade, Mazda debuted its similarly compelling RX-7 and Toyota introduced its first Supra Toyota; both clearly followed in the 240Z's footsteps. Now, of course, we live in a world in which high-quality, high-performance Japanese cars are so common as to deserve little comment, but the 240Z deserves credit as one of the first cars to change the perception--and, most importantly, to earn that change in perception.
The 240Z was such a great design that it still holds up today. They still look great, and 8.0-second performance from 0-60 and mid-20s fuel mileage is a combination that makes a well-maintained 240Z a viable daily driver even today, nearly four decades after its introduction. It remains such an icon that Nissan very publicly began selling restored 240Zs out of dealerships in 1998.
Like its 510 sibling, the 240Z also has a long, proud racing heritage. Brock Racing Enterprises (BRE) famously raced both 510s and 240Zs; no. 46 was driven by sports car racing great John Morton, who appears in the commercial below. I love how he demonstrates the Z's luxuriousness by clicking the push-button radio. Bravo, John. It's a nice vintage look at Road Atlanta, too.
The photos above are all from Flickr; the top two are from DanRhett and are, I believe, original photos of his 240Z. The third photo of a BRE-liveried 240Z is from the colorfully named jiminyshiznit.
--Chris H.
Mochi Mochi on August 05, 2008 at 01:03 PM
I think of the 240z as a break-though car in automotive history, in much the same manner as the early corvettes. Obviously there is a size and weight difference. But there are a lot of similarities. They started out as great classic sports cars then they bloated and lost their way - then they kind of redefined themselves. I guess the 240 never lost its roots, but then along came the 260 and the 280 which kind of displaced the 240. There was a bloating - much like the trends seen in corvettes. Then a return to sport through technology. But it is now so different - the Z's of today are nothing like the original. The 240 just sits out there on the horizon of automotive history shining like a star - light, simple, elegant - beautiful - great car.
Anthony Cagle on August 05, 2008 at 01:55 PM
I was wondering when the 240Z was going to get its own CL. Although I never paid a whole lot of attention to them, whenever I see one I still note that its design holds up well; it doesn't scream "1070s", it just sits there looking nice and sleek as if it will get up and go of its own accord at any minute.
Brian on August 05, 2008 at 02:33 PM
Few cars make me want to go out and drop a few grand on a 35+ year old car like an early 240Z does. It was a classic the day it rolled out of the factory, and it's a classic today. Beyond that, it's an excessively fun sports car with fantastic muscular looks. I don't mean to gush but that shape is just completely iconic, like the profile of a 911 or formula 1 race car. I don't have time right now to comprehensively describe all the permutations of lust and, quite honestly, intellectual respect for this design.
Brian on August 05, 2008 at 02:35 PM
This one is pretty nice:
http://anchorage.craigslist.org/car/737251379.html
Rob the SVX guy on August 05, 2008 at 03:04 PM
I know a car in similar proportions and vintage..... yet nobody remembers it, and you can get pristine examples of it for not much money. I would share it with all of you, but unfortunately the less said the better. This is the one car I WILL NOT write a Car Lust about, because I don't want other people to catch on. :P
David Colborne on August 05, 2008 at 04:18 PM
Rob, if you're referring to the Mazda RX-7, I'm pretty sure Chris has already covered it.
http://www.carlustblog.com/2008/01/car-lust--mazda.html
Past that, maybe the Celica GT? Those are actually nice little runabouts, too.
As for the 240Z, it's kind of hard to overstate the impact these cars had. They proved that it was possible to create a sporty, efficient car and not have to compromise on either. Plus, as you mentioned, it showed that Japan meant business, which opened up a lot of people's eyes. People frequently forget that, until the '70s, most people viewed Japan the way we view China today - a country of industrious people that make really cheap crap. The 240Z was neither cheap nor crap, and that threw a lot of people off-guard, especially since Detroit was cranking out plenty of cheaply-built crap at the time.
OldCarGuy on August 05, 2008 at 04:29 PM
Ditto to the already-sung praises, plus one more:
What a fantastic dashboard/instrument cluster they have!
Cookie the Dog's Owner on August 05, 2008 at 05:30 PM
I hadn't really appreciated the similarity to the E-type Jag until you pointed it out, but, yeah, it's there. If the E-type is the ravishing, high-maintenance girl you haven't got a snowball's chance in hell of getting a date with, the 240Z is the E-type's smarter little sister. Little Sis isn't overtly beautiful, but she's pretty cute when she takes off her glasses. She also knows how to shoot skeet at a championship level, does application programming in Visual Basic, rebuilds muscle-car engines, trains show horses, cooks like you wouldn't believe, and won't ever let you down.
Rob the SVX guy on August 05, 2008 at 08:23 PM
Nope, neither of those. I won't mention it. :)
David Colborne on August 05, 2008 at 11:07 PM
Aww, c'mon Rob... at least give us a country of origin, or maybe a continent. I can live with a continent.
Now I'm intrigued... let's see here... what can we determine, based on the following sentence?
"I know a car in similar proportions and vintage..... yet nobody remembers it, and you can get pristine examples of it for not much money."
- It's probably not European. Triumph and Mercedes resale values are ridiculous, so that rules out things like the TR7. If there's a running Fiat left in the US, it's hiding in a garage under NORAD where nobody will ever find it, so that rules out the X1/9. Besides, I'm pretty certain Chris already did an article on that. Audis didn't get really interesting until the '80s. Chris already touched on the VW Rabbit, so that rules out that. Saabs and Volvos didn't sell for anywhere near enough volume at that time, so getting pristine examples would be rather difficult. If it's French, you're a much sicker, more depraved person than I gave you credit for.
- It's probably not American. Chevy had the Vega. Ford had cars like the Pinto (not entirely impossible) and the Maverick (already covered here). Mopar was riding the Duster and the Dart as far as they could, and both of them are substantially bigger than a 240Z. AMC was a little more interesting around this time, with cars like the Javelin, Gremlin, etc., but AMCs have achieved enough cult status by this point that "not much money" is so far outside of the question that it might as well be on another planet. Heck, even a Rambler sells for too much at this point.
It could be a Pinto... I've heard that they're easy to modify into respectable cars and I've seen a fair number of them on dirt tracks, so it's not out of the question. Claiming you can find "pristine" ones, though, is a bit of a stretch. They're definitely not the kind of car that encouraged people to garage and baby them, after all.
So, unless you're talking about something truly obscure, it's gotta be Japanese.
Chris Hafner on August 05, 2008 at 11:28 PM
Opel GT?
OldCarGuy on August 06, 2008 at 07:01 AM
Cookie the Dog's Owner: "Little Sis isn't overtly beautiful, but she's pretty cute when she takes off her glasses. She also knows how to shoot skeet at a championship level, does application programming in Visual Basic, rebuilds muscle-car engines, trains show horses, cooks like you wouldn't believe, and won't ever let you down."
It's interesting how often vehicles we lust after may be compared to women we lust after, and what an interesting and telling set of attributes you assembled there, Cookie . . .
.
.
.
.
I like 'em!
Dave on August 06, 2008 at 07:27 AM
Chris Hafner beat me to it. It has to be the Opel GT.
Chris Hafner on August 06, 2008 at 08:50 AM
I'm guessing even if it is the Opel GT, Rob ain't saying. Oh, well - we'll just always be curious. It sounds a bit like the Opel to me, but then again you don't see nice examples every day.
Chris Hafner on August 06, 2008 at 08:51 AM
OldCarGuy: "what an interesting and telling set of attributes you assembled there, Cookie . . ."
Yeah, no kidding. I was tempted to ask for a phone number!
Anthony Cagle on August 06, 2008 at 11:58 AM
I may know the car of which Rob speaks, but can't remember the name of it. Wait. . . .Bricklin?
Cookie the Dog's Owner on August 06, 2008 at 12:25 PM
Bricklin.
That's cold.
David Colborne on August 06, 2008 at 01:59 PM
Aww, c'mon - that 8-track player on the front was brilliant!
andy on August 16, 2008 at 11:46 PM
Bah, toss out the "silky" six and drop in a smallblock Chevy.
Purists sneer at that, but I don't care. =]
Frankly6 on August 17, 2008 at 02:24 PM
It could be Fiat 124 Coupe or Spyder. In 1968 it had all disc brakes, a 5 speed and DOC. It handled wonderfully and was gorgeous.Unfortunately, It had Veglia electrics and no rust resistance.
ChopperDave on August 21, 2008 at 02:09 PM
Sigh ... I had a '77 280z that I adored, and still lust after, long after my cousin wrecked it. It had a loud-as-hell brake squeal that no one could figure out (but everyone knew when I was coming). It also had an automatic (eww, I know!). My favorite past time was taking 90-degree turns on wet leaves near my college campus, kicking the tail out and bolting into the parking lot on early days, when no one was around. And yeah, it still looks gorgeous, 30+ years later.
Dave on August 29, 2008 at 08:01 PM
It's a Cosworth Vega.
Max on December 15, 2008 at 09:59 PM
Great Dave,
I own a 1980 280zx 2+2, A bit heavier than the T -top model. But an excellent car to drive, especially on long straight highways.
I guess that's where you can really push the car's strength.
It was a piece of rotting metal when I first picked up. Amazingly the engine started and all electrical unit were up when I changed the battery, and replaced the oil and the rest of the fluids.
I take it for evening drives these days.. Yeah I do agree gorgeous car. I still love to have 240.
adam gomez on December 22, 2008 at 08:17 PM
THE 240 Z AND 280Z AND ZX,S WILL ALWAYS BE CLASSICS IN THIER OWN TIME.............
ed on December 27, 2008 at 09:50 PM
My family had a 240z. My brother b0ught it, I had it for a time, and my uncle bought it and he just died. It was green and early 70's. Is anyone interested in buying it? E-mail me at ebarnes@aol.com