With any car possessing as much heritage as the Nissan Z, you can’t just trot it out with paying respects to its elders. So it was only natural that Nissan would bring out its classic Z-cars from its own collection to the debut of the Z Proto in Yokohama, Japan. Here’s the entire clan, all gathered together, to welcome the latest addition to the family.
The unveiling took place at the newly opened Nissan Pavilion in Yokohama, not too far from the company’s world headquarters. At one point in the day, a gorgeous Grand Prix Maroon 240ZG was parked front and center.
Even though the first generation is represented twice here and the 240ZG isn’t as well known as the regular-nose Z, there’s good reason for its presence. According to Senior VP for Global Design Alfonso Albaisa, the two half-circles of the Z Proto’s LED headlights were inspired by the way the ZG’s plastic lenses reflect light when illuminated.
The formal lineup of six generations begins, quite properly, with a Fairlady Z432, the high-performance twin-cam version we never received in the US. It’s really the best representation of the S30 generation, an incontestable icon that kicked off a 51-year legacy.
The S130 generation was represented by a top-spec Fairlady 280Z. Sadly, while Japan had a turbo on the smaller 2.0-liter six, our 280ZX’s 2.8-liter turbo didn’t pass the Japanese government’s certification tests and was never offered in the motherland. The car on display did have an excellent two-tone Manhattan paint job, though.
Interestingly, the Z31 slot was filled by a US-spec left-hand-drive 50th Anniversary Edition 300ZX Turbo. Offered only in 1984, it was built to commemorate the founding of Nissan. Now, the Z itself is 50 years old. It’s mind-blowing to think that the length of time between today and the Z432 above is the same as between this Z31 and the year 1934!
The Z32 is represented by a Turbo 2-by-2, the only four-seater in this lineup. Interestingly, it’s also turbocharged, an option we in the States never got. All our 2+2s were naturally aspirated.
Finally, a silver Z33 and red Z34 finish out the family tree and bring the line of succession into the modern age. Even if you’re not a fan of every generation, seeing the entire genealogy together is quite remarkable. But, this wasn’t the only gathering of classic surrounding the Z Proto’s debut.
Last year, Nissan put together another collection of famous Zs to mark the 50 years of the Z and the launch party of the 50th Anniversary Edition 370Z. You may have seen footage from this gathering used in the Z Proto’s debut, or the S30 driving alongside the Z Proto at Nissan’s famed Oppama factory.
Leading the pack is a 1977 Fairlady Z-T, a home-market luxury trim level, followed by 2+2 versions of the S130 and Z31. The Z32, however, is a two-seater. Oops, did they send the 2-by-2 to the the other gathering by mistake? The Z33 looks like it could be the same car.
Amazingly, Nissan managed to call a two Z meetings with completely different examples of each classic generation. With the exception of maybe the Z35, none of them are repeated in front of the pavilion.
Taken together, it’s a fairly impressive record of everything the Z has stood for in the last half century. There’s a lot for Nissan to be proud of in these collections. It’s not an easy heritage to live up to, but we think the Z Proto has a good shot at doing its predecessors proud.
Additional Images:
Some images courtesy of Nissan.
gorgeous lovely cars to look at all great Z generations of Nissan .
Too much of a good thing is absolutely wonderful. [Mae West]
Hey,
I am quite sure that it is a Z-T, not a Z-L. Good to see on the rims. The Z-L had steel wheels with hubcaps, no alloy rims. And: The Z-T as we see it here – it was introduced in 1976 – also has remote controlled mirrors.
I had also written a little bit on my Instagram account: https://www.instagram.com/p/CFMHXAeDu9T/
But you do a great job. Keep up the good work!
Best greetings from Germany
Hi, I was going by what Nissan said when they released the images. They identified the car as a 1977 Z-L, but I think you are correct! This car has the NAPS engine, alloy wheels and remote mirrors as you say. I guess the marketing department made a mistake! Thanks for catching that!
Falls du interessiert daran bist, kann ich dir gerne ein paar Unterlagen von damals zuschicken. Ich habe einige Bücher, in denen dieses Auto dokumentiert ist.
Sorry, wrong language:
If you are interested in it, I can send you some documents from that time. I have some books in which this car is documented.
No worries, I know you are correct! In the Zama collection it’s labeled correctly as a Z-T, but for some reason it was labeled a Z-L in the documents Nissan gave us. I’ve corrected the article, thanks!
If you really wanted to look at the family heritage, then they could have included any two-door roadsters called Fairlady before they added the “Z”. While there is a clear distinction starting with the S30 generation, Nissan was manufacturing a roadster much longer. Still, 50 years of the Z is still impressive
If only Mr.K was around to see this. He would’ve been so proud.
He loved yellow Zs too!
Interesting that the USA only got shorty turbo Z32’s. Here in NZ we only got NA 2+2’s, but from my experience (of the JDM ones imported here) 2+2’s were way more common, and most were NZ, but the majority of turbos were 2+2’s. Most of the shorties that we got here as JDM were NA. A tin-top, manual, 2-seater being a true unicorn!