But the arrival in 1969 of the two-seater, 2.4 liter Datsun 240Z, updated by the 260Z in 1974, and only on sale in the USA for that model year, utterly tossed this trope on its head. Taking the Jaguar E-Type as its model, and designed by Yoshihiko Matsuo, the head of Nissan’s Sports Car Styling Studio, the car was priced in the United States within $200 of the British MGB-GT, an automobile that already seemed dated. And the 240Z was a modern classic, one of the 10 most important automobiles in US automotive history.

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Yet before the 240Z, and then the 260Z, rolled off the production line many years of planning had passed, time that was spent readying Datsun, the export arm of Nissan Motors Ltd, to deliver automobiles specifically aimed at American customers.

This is an extremely original and well-maintained blue plate California car that is mechanically sound.

The Datsun 260Z was a consequence of how in 1960 Yutaka Katayama had been sent to the United States by Nissan as the company’s American marketing manager. By 1965 Yutaka Katayama had been appointed President of Nissan Motors USA.

‘An American Sports/GT’ was the aim of this Japanese car manufacturer. And, boy, did it succeed in this desire, with such a significant and historical design.

The Japanese sports-car’s styling, engineering, and impressive performance – not to mention its relatively low price – proved an immediate hit. Moreover, thanks to Datsun’s growing dealer network, the 240Z was more readily available than such imported sports cars as Jaguar, Porsche, BMW, Alfa Romeo and Fiat, offering easy maintenance. And the biased stance against Japanese cars came to an end as the 240Z earned best-selling sports-car status, terminating the UK being king of the inexpensive end of this line.

But such was the sleekness of the 260Z that you felt you were running much faster.

And that certainly was part of the point of the 260Z: suddenly you were driving a semi-XKE at MG prices. Before such a notion was even in the public consciousness, you were meeting the quintessence of Japanese sophisticated design, no detail left unattended. (Curiously, especially in Europe, there are not many 260Zs left on the road. Although an English owner did recently compare his 260Z to ‘a fit bird’, certainly part of the appeal for fans of J G Ballard and his love of automobile-eroticism… )

There was also additional stiffness in the chassis due to a redesign of the chassis rails which were larger and extended further back than previous models. A rear sway roll-bar was added as well. The 260Z debuted a redesigned dashboard and console, as well as new seat trim, and door panels for the interior. The tail lights were updated, moving the back-up lights from the main tail light housing to the back panel.

Fit bird?

‘Like love at first sight’ may be considered a more poetic assessment of the Datsun 260Z, a project that was an utter success. In the book FAIRLADY STORY Datsun SP/SR & Z, which Yoshihiko Matsuo co-authored with Yutaka Katayama, Mr Matsuo concludes, ‘I’d like to take this opportunity to express my thanks to the thousands of owners in America (and other foreign markets) who bought the Z during a period when Japanese vehicles were still looked down upon. May your enjoyment of the Z-Car continue for many years to come.’

-Alex Manos, Owner