Those of you who know me know that I absolutely love the Subaru BRZ and Scion FRS twins. I feel that they are this era's 240Z. Great styling, great performance compared to the competition, great standard features, best bang for the buck out there.

Something like what Datsun did in 1970 with the 240Z.

The current 370Z, and the 350Z before it, are as far removed from the original Z formula as can be. With a loaded 370Z roadster over $50,000 now, "value" goes right out the window. Good performance and features, but at 50 grand there SHOULD be. Very nice cars, but a bloated descendant that does little to recall the earth shattering industry revising original 240Z.

But according to the article below, there may be some hope. Perhaps Nissan has taken notice of the Subaru/Scion twins and may do something dramatic with the next Z. It worked in 1970, it can surely work today. Let the big spenders have the GTR. Give the rest of us a new 240Z. I hope so.

http://jalopnik.com/the-next-nissan-z-c ... 1643094196

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John Taddonio
1970 240Z
1977 530Z
1984 300ZXT
zcarnut@hotmail.com
FB: Zccr zcarclubofrochester

I suspect they will never again match the overwhelming popularity of the original S30 Z cars. For those of you who weren't there to experience it, once you saw a 240Z back in the 1970s, you HAD to own one. You hardly cared what color it was, what options it had, or which sibling you had to sell to buy it. Some people simply replaced their life goals with 'owning a Z'. I fell deeply in love with the first one I became familiar with nearly 45 yrs ago, and still own that very same car today.

Nissan MIGHT, however, come close ~ and even 'close' would make them rich again.

If they created a sleek, lightweight outer skin (real metal with minimal plastic) and stretched it over a really strong performing "half-potential" OHC-V6, gave it accurate suspension and an exhaust note all its own and kept the price down to the average 23 yr-old's pay range, it would sell like water in the desert. The original L24 engines were sold at half-potential, and dedicated racers could boost them from 151hp to 300hp.

A 'new' design might work, but after 45 yrs of trying to duplicate the Z's success, all the good designs have been sort of used up. I wouldn't want them to end up using something that looked like that Triumph TR8-wedge-doorstop thing and call it a Z.

I would actually vote for a near-copy of the old S30 with modern goodies. I would urge them to call it a Datsun Z, as well. Today's gear heads want to pull everything apart and add Nitrous and turbos and the like, so a strong aftermarket would have to build up for the 'new Z', as well. Maybe it could put 'Murica back to work?

But the original Z was a complete surpriZe to the entire world. It revolutioniZed the whole auto industry. The only people who hated a Z were the ones trying to beat them on the street, track, or showroom. The Z was "NEW" in capital letters ~ it did things no other sportscar had ever done before, at a price far below that of all competition. A new Z would be nostalgia, and would fulfill the lustful yearnings of today's generation who have 'always wanted a Z'.

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1970 240Z

To gauge the popularity of the old S30 design, you have only to consider the Heritage project of the 1990s. Fewer than 40 S30s were stripped to the metal and rebuilt with factory money. Each car cost roughly $90,000 to rebuild (and sold for $30,000 each), and sold like craZy.
I've often considered the guy who might have sold his old Zs to the Heritage project for $10,000, then bought a rebuilt one for $30k, effectively giving him a $90,000 'showroom-new 240Z' for $20,000

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1970 240Z