1971 Datsun 240Z

Datsun unveiled the 240Z to the press in October of 1969 with its public debut a few days later at the Tokyo Motor Show. It was a modern sports car with an intuitive interior, a potent powerplant, effective handling, an affordable price, and a wind-cheating design created by Yutaka Katayama. The styling was influenced by a 1960's styling concept penned by Count Albrecht Goertz (stylist of the BMW 503 and 507) for Datsun, presumably at a time when they were considering ways to break into the European sports car market. The popularity and demand for the 240Z soon outpaced the production capacity of the State's Hiratsuka plant, and on the racing circuit, it was equally successful as it dominated the Sports Car Club of America's C-Production category. It would achieve success in both racing and rallying, earning a well-deserved reputation for reliability and ruggedness. Among the accolades it achieved were outright victories in the Safari Rally from 1971 to 1973. Leading drivers included Edgar Hermann, Rauno Aaltonen, Harry Kallstrom, Shekhar Mehta and Tony Fall.

The Datsun 240Z was the first generation of 'Z-Type' two-seat coupes, produced by Nissan in Japan from 1969 to 1978. It was later followed by the 260Z and the 280Z.

The 1971 Datsun 240Z changed little when compared to the 1970 version. The 2-door coupe had a base price of $3,600 and was powered by an overhead-cam six-cylinder (model L24) unit displacing 146 cubic inches and offering 151 horsepower and 146 lb-ft of torque at just 4,400 RPM. It had a four-speed manual transmission, front disc brakes, and rear drums. The suspension was comprised of Chapman struts and coil springs with lower wishbones. Zero-to-sixty mph was accomplished in eight seconds and had a top speed of 125 mph.

For 1971, Datsun exported 33,684 examples of the 240Z to the United States. This was an increase of nearly 17,500 examples over the prior year.

by Daniel Vaughan | Oct 2019