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Classic, powerful sports coupé raised the profile of Datsun's rallying, but where Nissan/Datsun was most successful, in the Safari, the 240Z's power advantage didn't seem to be worth much those days. Maybe the biggest problem of the 240Z and later 260Z was Datsun's ideas. There were only two rallies that really interested Datsun, the Monte Carlo and the Safari, and the Z models were more regarded by Datsun as the Monte challenger. The car with its long bonnet was never successful at the Monte, and maybe Datsun was surprised that soon privateers preferred to take the Z to Sweden and RAC with more success! It's main problem was very likely indeed an error of thinking. The long bonnet made accurate and nimble driving difficult in Monte Carlo. Datsun always preferred the small saloon cars for the Safari, but exactly here the long bonnet did not matter, but long wheel base and 6-cylinder low end torque did. In Safari 1971 Edgar Hermann and Shekhar Mehta celebrated a 240Z 1-2 finish, young Mehta winning also the 1973 Safari in a 240Z, the works team still kept entering small saloons here.
This car deserves much more of a write up, but all is basically said already. A German BMW designer designed the car for Datsun. It was a really unique sports model, "THE" Datsun of the 1970s. Yet it's long bonnet made the car less suitable for the sprint rallies that would have best suited its image.
|
Model & Evo. (Activity) |
BHP@ RPM |
Torque (Nm)@ RPM |
Length Width Height |
Weight (Kg/BPM Ratio) |
Trans. (W'base) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Fairlady (Z) 240Z (73-0) |
220/6500 | 300/5000 | 4114.1630.1285 | 1160 (4.8) | Rwd (2305) |
|
Fairlady (Z) 260Z (74-0) |
260/6500 | 320/5000 | 4114.1630.1285 | 1160 (4.5) | RWD (2305) |
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