While the original Skyline GT-R dominated at home and was largely unknown outside of Japan until the R33 had existed for several years, the S30 Z was Nissan’s halo car, torchbearer, and image-maker around the world. It was the 240Z that transformed Americans’ ideas of what a sports car could be, achieved countless victories at road racing events across the US, and wowed Europe with rallying wins. A new video from Nissan celebrates that legacy.
The video begins promotional footage of 240Zs driving around the cities and landscapes of 1970s America, including a nice shot of a billboard advertisement for the then-new Z. That’s followed by footage of the 1970 SCCA runoffs, according to JNC‘s Datsun racing expert Glenn Chiou, in which John Morton battles Bob Tullius of Group 44 in his Triumph TR6. Then there’s footage of the 19th East African Safari Rally, in which Edgar Herrmann and Hans Schüller took first place in 1971. Though just a small fraction of the Z’s motorsports laurels, the video shows how the Z became Nissan’s ambassador to the world
