Datsun 280Z

Brand Datsun
Model 280Z
Color Orange
Transmission Manual 5-speed
Pk 170 ch
Year 1977
Price Not for sale

Considered one of the most successful sports car lines ever produced, it was designed by a team led by Yoshihiko Matsuo, the head of Nissan’s Sports Car Styling Studio, with a body designed by Albrecht Goertz, the designer of the BMW 507.

The 2.8-liter inline six-cylinder engine produced 170 horsepower and was mated to a 4- or 5-speed manual transmission. The original dashboard design – a large tachometer and speedometer placed directly in front of the driver, with three round gauges in the center of the dashboard – has become a design icon.

It was not a race car – 0 to 100 km/h was 7.8s, with a top speed of 200 km/h, but it was successful in American SCCA races in the 1970s.

Originally introduced in 1969 as the Fairlady Z in Japan, then later in the rest of the world as the 240Z, then 260Z and finally 280Z, the car known by the internal production code S30 was sold until 1978. The Z was the first car in the U.S. that really broke the American stereotype of Japanese cars as small, frugal cars, and for good reason.

Acquired in 2017, this example has been restored to body and engine, to present itself today in exceptional condition.