2019 is the 50th Anniversary of Zed cars
Caveat - I’m no history buff so the information here is just from my memory - there’s no hard and fast or researched facts here.
When the Datsun 240z first broke cover in late 1969 it spawned a long line of “Zed cars” that still continues today with the Nissan 370z. The original S30 was primarily designed with the American market in mind so was built in both LHD and RHD versions right from the beginning. The JDM versions (Fairlady) started with a 2 litre in-line 6 cylinder while the Rest Of World market cars were a larger 2.4 litre sporting twin Hitachi carburetors and a single overhead cam.
In time the 240z became the 260z with an increase to 2.6 litre and a later 2+2 body style added and while Australia transitioned to the S130 Nissan 280zx chassis the American market continued on with the S30 chassis in 280z form with a 2.8 litre fuel injected version of the same engine.
In its day the 240z was something special, it was clearly built as a good looking unapologetic sports car with long bonnet and swooping lines but underneath the skin the substance more than matched the image with independent McPherson strut suspension all round and packing 150hp up front. Perhaps not ground breaking but considerably cheaper than the British and European sports cars of the day and underpinned by the increasingly reliable and dependable Japanese design and execution.
This was backed up by factory efforts in racing and rallying highlighted by a win in the 1973 East African Safari Rally showing how strong and fast this car really was.
Over the years the Zed cars grew and changed with the times, the 1978 280zx sprouted a turbo version and targa top roof, the 1980’s saw the 300zx in Z31 form sport a 2.0 and 3.0 V6 engine in NA and turbo applications. For the 1990’s the Z32 300zx grew again with V6 only power and evolved into a more grand tourer than sports car.
After a brief hiatus with no Z cars on the books (the sports cars being covered by the smaller 180SX and 200SX four bangers) in 2003 Nissan released the all new 350z (Z33) in both hatch and roadster versions.
The 350z used a 3.5l NA V6 as the only powerplant and a ‘Track’ trim version included Brembo brakes and strut tower braces for that extra racing cred.
By 2009 the 350z was replaced by the Z34 370z with a larger 3.7l engine and a sharp, updated look which is still in production today.
While the 240z didn’t appear in Australian dealers until perhaps October 1970 they were actually launched in Japan in 1969 so Nissan have officially called 2019 the 50th Anniversary of the 240z. In Australia this is being celebrated around the country with a number of different events but perhaps the largest will be the “Anniversary of Zed Cars” to be held at Bathurst NSW in late November. This event is timed to coincide with the Challenge Bathurst motorsport event at Mt Panorama and caters for road and race cars alike with the week of festivities including a street parade in the City of Bathurst, show and shine and country cruise events culminating in a group of 50+ Zed cars competing on track together on the Mt Panorama racing circuit.
Entries for the racing component are already sold out but there are plenty or opportunities to bust out the road car for a great weekend so put something in your calendar now and join us in November.
This promises to be the largest gathering of Zed cars in Australia and should be something special. Stay tuned.
Surely 2019 will see the next generation of Zed car released? Please?