Nissan Z-car

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Z-car usually refers to a series of sports cars manufactured by Nissan. Early on they were released under Nissan's Datsun brand name.

Starting out in 1969 with the 240Z, the Datsun Z-cars have been popular in Japan, where they are known as the Fairlady Z (Note: the Fairladys used 2000 cc L series motors), the United States, and the United Kingdom. Even with their good looks, reliability, and strong performance, they have been remarkably affordable automobiles. The Nissan Z cars also currently holds the record of best selling sports car of all time with around 1,685,000 in five generations.

Contents 1 History 1.1 First generation (S30) 1.2 Second generation (S130) 1.3 Third generation (Z31) 1.4 Fourth generation (Z32) 1.5 Nissan 240Z Concept (1999) 1.6 Fifth generation (Z33) 2 Engines 3 Reputation 4 In popular culture 5 References 6 External links

[edit] History

Datsun was a small company that had visions of greatness. In the early 1960s, Nissan had partnered with Yamaha and famous car designer Albrecht Graf von Goertz to design a new sports car prototype. As no strangers to the sports car game, company executives rightfully saw it as a halo car that would improve its image in the minds of consumers. By 1964 Nissan realized that Yamaha's DOHC 2.0-liter engine was not meeting Nissan's expectations and the project was scrapped. Yamaha then later finished a prototype and took their design to Toyota, and the result was the building of the Toyota 2000GT. Yutaka Katayama ( or known as "Mr. K") president of Nissan USA at the time, had realized the importance of an affordable sports car. Nissan had already produced the successful series of Fairlady roadsters that competed against English roadsters, and product planners envisioned a new line of GT cars that would be stylish, innovative, fast, and relatively inexpensive by sharing parts among other vehicles. Prototype work began in 1966 with a clay mockup. The 240Z design team was led by 10 people headed by Mr. K.

• Mr. Yutaka Katayama (President of Nissan USA)
• Mr. Teiichi Hara (Manager, Nissan Design and Development)
• Mr. Kazumi Yotsurnoto (Manager, Passenger Car Styling Section}
• Mr. Yoshihiko Matsuo (Chief of Design, Styling Studio #4)
• Mr. Akio Yoshida (Assistant Designer on Exterior Design)
• Mr. Sue Chiba (Interior Design)
• Mr. Eiichi Oiwa (Styling Studio Assistant)
• Mr. Kiichi Nishikawa (Styling Studio Assistant)
• Mr. Hidemi Kamahara (Design Engineer)
• Mr. Tsuneo Benitani (Design Engineer)

[edit] First generation (S30)

Main article: Nissan S30

Production of the 240Z started on October 1969, with 2 separate versions: one for the Japanese market and one for the US market. The Japanese 240Z featured a SOHC L20 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 S20 engine with the Skyline GT-R. The US 240Z's engine was not designed with racing in mind as was the Japanese engine, as the Japanese did not think anybody in America would seriously race it there.^[1] 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 "240Z" 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 30,000 units in 1971 and over 50,000 and 40,000 in 1972 and 1973, respectively.

1974 saw the 240Z's engine displacement increased to 2.6 liters, bringing a name change to 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 and carburetors in the face of stiffening emissions regulations. In other regions the power was increased to 154 hp (115 kW).

In 1975, the Nissan 280Z (not to be confused with the 280ZX, which is a completely different car) was introduced after 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 horsepower bump to 170 hp (130 kW), enough to offset the added luxury and enlarged bumpers to meet US Federal regulations.

[edit] Second generation (S130)

Main article: Nissan 280ZX

The 280ZX. The only thing that was left unchanged from the previous 280Z was the 5-speed manual transmission and 2.8-liter 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·lb_f (275 N·m) of torque, over the 135 bhp (101 kW) and 144 ft·lb_f (195 N·m) of the NA engine.

Notable models include the 10th Anniversary Edition,^[2] 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.

[edit] Third generation (Z31)

Main article: Nissan 300ZX

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^[3] 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.^[4] 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 began sale of its first 300ZX in Japan, it was introduced in the US one year later. All USDM 1984 model Nissan vehicles are badged as both a Datsun and Nissan. 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 wheels (400 mm).^[5]

For the 1985 model year, Nissan dropped the Datsun name brand for good. 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.^[6]

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.

[edit] Fourth generation (Z32)

Main article: Nissan 300ZX

The only thing that remained unchanged from the previous 300ZX is the 3.0-liter displacement, now with dual overhead camshafts and producing a rated 222 hp (166 kW) and 198 ft·lbf (268 N·m) in naturally aspirated form. The big news for enthusiasts, however, was the turbo variant, now upgraded with twin Garrett turbochargers and dual intercoolers. This was good for between 280 and 300 hp (210 and 224 kW) along with 283 ft·lbf (384 N·m) of torque.^[7] Performance varied from 0-60 times of 5.0-6.0 seconds depending on the source, and it had a governed top speed of 155 mph (249 km/h).

Upon its release, the new 300ZX became an instant hit, winning Motor Trend's "Import Car of the Year" in 1990 as well as "One of the Top Ten Performance Cars". Automobile Magazine honors the 300ZX/300ZX Turbo as its "Design of the Year" and adds it to their "All Stars" list. Road & Track names the 300ZX Turbo "One of the Ten Best Cars in the World", and Car and Driver adds it to their 10Best for the seven years in which it was in production in America. American Z-car sales reach the one million sales mark in the 1990 model year, making it the all-time best selling sports car.^[8]

One of the first few cars completely designed with CAD software, it featured a whole host of technological advancements. On top-of-the-line twin turbo models, four-wheel steering was available under the name Super HICAS (High Capacity Actively Controlled Steering). The twin turbochargers, intercoolers, and requisite plumbing left for a cramped engine bay; however, everything fit perfectly with merely the slightest of bulges. The VG30DE(TT) engine also featured dual overhead camshafts and variable valve timing.

Like previous generations Nissan offered a 2+2 model with the Z32. In 1993, a convertible version was added for the first time in the Z-car's history, as a response to aftermarket conversions. All 300ZXs now featured T-tops as standard, yet there were some rare hardtops (known as "slicktops" to enthusiasts) produced as well.

Unfortunately, the 300ZX was doomed to the same fate of many Japanese sports cars at the time. The mid-'90s trend toward SUVs and away from sports cars was influential in ending production in 1996 at over 80,000 units sold. However, the biggest killer of the 300ZX was its inflated price; at its release it was priced at a little over $30,000, but in its final year this price had increased to over $50,000. This left many people questioning its value, and despite a final Commemorative Edition of the final 300 units shipped to America (complete with decals and certificates of authenticity), the Z-car was on hiatus. In Japan, however, the 300ZX lived on for a few more years with a facelift.

[edit] Nissan 240Z Concept (1999)

The Z-car went on hiatus from 1996 to 2002, as Nissan was not only focusing on SUVs but was also in financial trouble. Many people believed that Nissan would not live to see the new millennium, and that the Z-car would die with it. To keep Z-car interest alive, the company launched a restoration program in 1998 where they purchased original 240Zs, professionally restored them, and sold them at dealerships for $24,000.

Furthermore, Nissan launched a concept car at the 1999 North American International Auto Show, the 240Z Concept. Clearly a throwback to the original, it was a bright orange two-seater with classic swept-back styling . In addition, it was fully functioning, with the 2.4-liter 4-cylinder KA24DE engine from the Nissan Altima featuring 200 bhp (150 kW) and 180 foot-pounds force (240 N·m) of torque. The designers used an original 240Z to provide inspiration and the concept was created from drawing to running vehicle in only 12 weeks.^[9]

Unfortunately, people felt that the running concept, featuring a paltry 4-cylinder in the face of the Z-car's traditional 6-cylinder engines, was less than a worthy successor to the line.^[10][11]

[edit] Fifth generation (Z33)

Main article: Nissan 350Z

When Carlos Ghosn of French company Renault stepped in, buying 44.4% of the company in 1999 and becoming its chief operating officer, people still had reason to believe that the Z-car would be lost in the shuffle and would never reappear again. Massive restructuring on a scale never before seen by the Japanese automakers led to such fears, among layoffs, corporate restructuring, and product management issues that resulted. Yet Ghosn surprised people after becoming CEO by telling reporters: "We will build the Z. And we will make it profitable."^[12]

Finally in August 2002, Nissan introduced the Z Concept. Much like its previous Z concept, it debuted at the North American International Auto Show and was also painted bright orange. The squat, long-hood/short-deck styling was the result of a competition between Nissan's Japanese, European, and American design studios, with the La Jolla, California studio's design being chosen. The product planners wisely decided to avoid the price problems that plagued the last few years of the 300ZX and shot for a target MSRP of $30,000 while using the Porsche Boxster as a benchmark.^[13]

In the summer of 2003, the 350Z was finally released to wide acclaim. It used the 3.5-liter VQ35DE engine from multiple Nissan cars, including the Maxima and Pathfinder. This engine initially produced 287 bhp (214 kW) and 274 ft·lbf (371 N·m) torque, but in 2005 was bumped up to an even 300 bhp (220 kW) and 260 ft·lbf (350 N·m). Prices started at $26,000 US, well below the $30,000 mark initially set. Coupled to either a 6-speed manual or 5-speed automatic (the auto loses 13 bhp (9.7 kW) in comparison), it is currently available only as a 2-seater hardtop and a convertible, introduced in 2004, and there will not likely be a 2+2 configuration. There are 5 trim packages available, featuring options such as Bose audio systems and leather seats, with the top-of-the-line trim being the Nismo limited edition. This included revised camshafts, a Nismo sport tune exhaust, custom RAYS Engineering 18-inch (460 mm) wheels (19 in/480 mm in rear), front and rear spoilers and rear diffuser, a Brembo braking system with four-piston front and two-piston rear calipers (with 12.8 in/330 mm front and 12.7 in/320 mm rear rotors).

So far, there have been many special editions released in Japan, Europe, and the US, with the most notable being the 35th Anniversary Edition. Celebrating 35 years of the Z-car (as opposed to the 300ZX Z31's 50th Anniversary Edition commemorating the company), it was based on the Track Edition and came in three colors (Ultra Yellow, Silverstone and Super Black), special 5-spoke wheels, and special Z emblems.

[edit] Engines

The first two generations (240Z/260Z/280Z and 280ZX) of Z-car were powered by a Straight-6, (part of the L-series of Nissan engines, which powered most of their vehicles until the early 1980s) with a displacement of 2.4 L in the first incarnation, and increasing to 2.6 L and 2.8 L in the 260Z, and the 280Z and ZX, respectively.

The second generation, the 280ZX, introduced in 1979 was a complete re-design, retaining only the L28 engine and other driveline components. A turbo option was introduced, bringing performance surpassing that of the original 240z.

The third generation, the 300ZX, switched to a 3.0 L V6. There were 2 generations of the 300ZX, the Z31 from 1984-1989, and the Z32 from 1990-1996. Both the Z31 and Z32 came in either non-turbo or turbo trims. During the 90's the cars price continued to elevate and sales continued to fall. Even a major design change in 1998 couldn't save it, and production finally ended in 2001.

In the 2003 model year, Nissan reentered the US sports-car market with the 350Z, powered by a 3.5 L V6, and styled in an attempt to create a more modern interpretation of the 240Z's lines. It had a new 6-speed manual gearbox, and is capable of over 155 mph (249 km/h).

[edit] Reputation

The Z series is the best selling sports car series in history. The first generation of Z-car is known for unusually quick acceleration and firm handling, easily comparable to sports cars of that era such as various in-line six British racers and even the Porsche 911, but with lower purchase and maintenance costs. The most sought after are the earliest 240Zs, due to their being unencumbered with emissions regulations and powered by high-compression engines. In 1998, Nissan even offered restored 240Zs through its dealerships.

V8 conversions are popular, due to the car's unusually large engine bay, and several companies specialize in producing such conversions.^[14] Many forums exist for modified cars,^[15] being the major ones.

The 280ZX introduced in 1979, while maintaining a similar look and drivetrain compared to earlier models, was not as well-regarded due the addition of even more heavy accessories and emissions controls, making it less of a sports car and more of a GT (Grand Touring). This sentiment continued with the 300ZX. The first generation 300ZX, although far more powerful than its predecessors, was thought as somewhat of a luxury cruiser as opposed to a sports car despite selling in large numbers. The second generation 300ZX was much improved as a sports car and won high praise from magazines and enthusiasts alike, especially in Twin Turbo Z32 form, but later became too expensive and at odds with the affordability offered by the original 240Z.

Nissan has managed to regain the reputation of the Z-car with the 350Z, an affordable car that combines strong performance with good looks.

[edit] In popular culture

The three most popular examples are three of the Autobots in Transformers. Prowl, Bluestreak and Smokescreen all had the ability to disguise themselves as Nissan Fairlady Z's. 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. A Nissan 350Z was used in the 2006 movie "The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift", by the movie's main antagonist, Takashia (A.K.A the Drift King.)

A targa-top red Z32 300ZX also features as the 'hero car' the 1989 videogame, Chase HQ Special Criminal Investigation. This game allowed players to live the dream of racing fast, driving a (at the time) ultra exclusive sports car and shooting simultaneously.

In the television series "Desperate Housewives", Edie Britt drives a Nissan 350Z.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Datsun Sports Roadster and Fairlady (フェアレディ) Racing History
• Classic Z Register
• Datsun History

v • d • e Nissan Z-car timeline, 1960s–present
1960s										1970s										1980s										1990s										2000s
0	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	0	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	0	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	0	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	0	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9
									240Z (S30)					260Z (S30)		280Z (S30)			280ZX (S130)					300ZX (Z31)					300ZX (Z32)													350Z (Z33)