Datsun 240Z

The Datsun 240Z was blessed with excellence. Not because it was a feat of technological brilliance.  It didn’t offer revolutionary styling that turned the industry around, nor did it deliver economy or performance  that set it apart from its contemporaries. The Datsun 240Z‘s greatness is derived from the combination of  evocative if derivative styling,competent engineering,  better-than-average performance and low price. The standard  automotive buyer of the late-Sixties couldn’t afford a Jaguar E-Type, but she or he could afford a 240Z.

Nissan and Datsun  share roots

Before 1970 and the introduction of the 240Z, let’s follow the winding path of Nissan and Datsun back to pre-World War I. In 1912, Masujiro Hashimoto joined with three partners to establish the Kwaishinsha Motor Car Company. In much the same way as FIAT, the brand name for its auto line was DAT, each of the letters taken from the surname of one of its financiers, namely Kenjoro Den, Rokuro Aoyama and Meitaro Takeuchi. The DAT brand name continued to grace the company’s cars when, in 1926,  it  combined with another company, Jidosha Seizo.

The stock market collapse of 1929 turned the world’s car manufacturers topsy-turvy, and even in well-isolated Japan, the Depression had its reverberations.  Initially,  the company went into reorganization and, as part of its new image, it decided to rename its line of cars “Datson” as in son of DAT. (Later,  the spelling was replaced with “Datsun.”) Then the company was, in turn, acquired,  separated from its parent company, and finally re-acquired by a holding company with ties to its previous proprietor. The formal name of the holding company was Nihon Sagyo, but, Ni-San, was  its Japanese stock exchange abbreviation, and that was how it was referred to by much of the Japanese public. In 1934, to simplify things,  the name of the auto manufacturing firm was changed to Nissan Motor Company Limited. Soon thereafter,  Nissan exported its first vehicles, but Japan’s invasion of China and then World War II interrupted the company’s advancement in a rather serious manner.

Let’s move forward to 1960. Japan,  re-industrialized and de-militarized, decides to reach out to other nations to become a serious exporter of manufactured goods, including automobiles.

And then, the legendary Mr. K walked in. In 1960, Yutaka Katayama was hired  as marketing manager for Nissan’s fledgling North American operation. It wasn’t much of an assignment, because Datsun automobiles were virtually unknown in America at the time, but Katayama was determined to make the best of it, and he knew  precisely  what he wanted to do.

Datsun finally wins car rally

Just two years earlier,  Katayama made a name for himself and for Datsun by lobbying for the formation of a rally team that participated in the 1958 “Around Australia Mobilgas Trial.”  Coming in with low expectations, the Datsun team won the rally, which put Katayama’s star on the rise. He believed that high-profile competition using cars created for the American market could push  the Datsun brand from the shadows into the limelight in the United States.

With this in mind, Katayama became a pest at Nissan corporate headquarters, attempting to persuade the stodgy top executives of the company to approve the development of cars that Americans would enjoy driving. This effort moved in fits and starts, but one of the results of Katayama’s efforts was the continued  enhancement of the Datsun Fairlady 1500. A convertible 2-seater, this model was, in essence, a knock-off of the British sports models of the day, and as it progressed to 1600 and then 2000 trim through the Sixties, it started  to attract an American following.

While Katayama was helping shepherd Datsun in the U.S., another player came in  the ballgame, Dr. Albrecht Graf von Goertz. Von Goertz was a German-born, American industrial designer with remarkable  experience. He had played a big part in the design of the Studebaker Starliner by Raymond Loewy’s South, Bend, Indiana-based studio, and then worked with BMW on its  sophisticated  507 sports car, which inspired the current BMW Z8. Then he went to Porsche to work on one of the most enduring designs in car history, the 911.

German partners assisted  with the car

After all these experiences, in 1963,  von Goertz became a consultant for Nissan to work on the Silvia 1600 sports coupe (derivative of the open Fairlady 1600), which debuted at the 1964 Tokyo Motor Show.

With that project under his belt, von Goertz was then appointed to Katayama’s pet project, the production of a sports car for the U.S. market. In addition to von Goertz, Nissan also hired another outside resource, Yamaha, in the development process, but the project hit snags, mostly revolving around the 2-liter engine, and Nissan put it on the back burner. Almost quickly, Yamaha  brought the prototype model to Toyota, and the Japanese auto giant revitalized the project. Eventually,  the car that would come out from their combined efforts was the Toyota 2000GT. Meanwhile, von Goertz left Nissan’s employ, and the Nissan American sports car project was thoroughly revamped.

Strangely, it was the public introduction of the Toyota 2000GT that got the Nissan program back on track. The Toyota version legitimatized the sports/GT design concept, and Katayama, who had risen to president of Nissan North America, pushed hard to move the project forward. He was the perfect man to conceptualize the car, because he was both an auto aficionado  and a marketing executive. He knew a technologically interesting car like the Toyota 2000GT might look good on paper, but its  high price and complexity,  would doom it to low sales.

He worked closely with Tiichi Hara, the project team leader,  and Yoshihiko Matsuo,  the new design team head, to realize a concept that offered sports/GT looks and performance but at a reasonable price. He also made certain that the new project,  called Nissan Design Project Z, was a car that could comfortably hold two American passengers.

Datsun 240Z  launched  to raves

In 1969, the Datsun 240Z was introduced  as a 1970 model, and it became an immediate sensation. With a smooth and solidly built 2393 cubic centimeter single overhead cam in-line six under its hood, Nissan claimed the 240Z could dash  from zero to 60 miles per hour in 8 seconds flat. The engine supplied 151 horsepower at 5600 rpm and 146 pound-feet of torque at 4400 rpm, which lends some credence to that claim.

Under its sophisticated and very un-Japanese bodywork, the 240Z also sported a suspension with respectable  GT credentials. It was independent all around,  depending on McPherson struts up front and Chapman struts in the rear. Steering was via quick-ratio rack-and-pinion, and the car was blessed  with front disc brakes. No, it wasn’t an E-Type, but priced at  only  $3,500, it was a steal.

Sales took off  swiftly, and at the close of the 240Z’s fourth and final model year in 1973, the total stood at 116,712 units. It was proof positive that the  fabled  Mr. K had both learned and taught his lessons very well.

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