Nissan Z

The Nissan Z is the series of sports cars that Nissan has built since 1969, known in Japan as the Fairlady Z and sold abroad first as the Datsun 240Z and later as the 260Z, 280Z, 280ZX, 300ZX, 350Z, 370Z and simply the Nissan Z. Seven generations have appeared. The first two used straight-six engines from the L series, the third generation 300ZX switched to a 3.0 litre V6, and the later 350Z and 370Z used the VQ family of V6 engines. Early cars were built at the Nissan Shatai plant in Hiratsuka, while the 350Z and 370Z came from Oppama and then Tochigi. The line is remembered for combining looks, reliability, performance and a modest price, and its rivals in Japan included the Toyota Celica and Supra, the Mitsubishi 3000GT and the Mazda RX-7.