Nissan won its first SCCA Run-offs championship with Bob Sharp.Set seven speed world records with the Nissan R380-II.Winner, East African Safari Rally, Under 1,300cc class, Datsun Bluebird 1300SS 1967.Winner, Japanese Grand Prix, Yoshikazu Sunako, Prince R380.Set five speed world records with the Nissan R380 1966.1-2, Japanese Grand Prix, T-VI race, Prince Gloria Su.Prince Skyline 2000GT, Finished 2nd to 6th – the beginning of the Skyline/GT-R legend.Winner, Japanese Grand Prix, B-11 race, Genichiro Tahara, Datsun Fairlady 1500 1964.Winner, Around Australia Trial, Class A, Datsun 210 "Fuji" 1963.The move was slightly underhanded, but the team got away with it, winning the 1971 East Africa rally outright. Before 1972, Nissan's works rally Z cars were actually lightweight Z432 bodies fitted with L24 engines. The proof, perhaps, is in the Z's early rallying wins. Had the racing Z432Rs been able to access the same level of engine development as the PCG10 and KPCG10 Skyline GT-Rs, they might have been even more dominant. These were convincing wins, beating the likes of the mid-engined Porsche 906. It was first victorious in April of 1970, at the Race de Nippon, and also at the subsequent All Japan Suzuka 1000 km race in May. The Oppama (Nissan) works team was as much as a year behind in being supplied race-tuned solutions such as mechanical fuel injection. Far from it: the svelte Z432R was obviously prettier than the hakosuka Skyline, and Prince's team jealously considered the S20 “their” engine. Former Prince employees were perhaps not enthused about giving the Nissan Z teams equal support in development. The S20 straight-six had come under Nissan's umbrella as part of their acquisition of the Prince motor company and their Skyline sedans. Both the U.S.-market 2.4-liter, and even the 240Z badge, came later. Original 1967 clay models for the Z project were built around the S20, and the hood had to be stretched to fit the L-series engines that powered most production Zs. GT-R rivalry, which we’ll explore later.įirst, it's worth pointing out that both the Z432 and Z432R weren't just Zs with a Skyline engine stuffed under the hood, but probably closer to the original intent of the Z-car. The two-door Skyline coupe didn't come out until after the Z432R, and this created a Z vs. This was the engine (and transmission) out of the four-doored PGC10 GT-R, which was already cementing the GT-R's legend in touring car racing. Under the hood was the aforementioned S20, a 2.0-liter inline-six producing just shy of 160 hp in factory tune, the same as the more common Z432.
![240z gt legends 240z gt legends](http://cdn.carbuzz.com/share-images/990x660/9000/300/9303.jpg)
Some road-car owners optioned heaters just to clear the front window on a wet day, but the R was as bare-bones as it gets. All the stainless-steel garnish was missing from the windows, not so much a decision to remove weight as about only adding the essentials. There were no creature comforts, no heater, no radio, no clock, no glovebox, and no sound-deadening. Sections of the bodywork were stamped out of thinner-gauge steel, and all the glass apart from the windshield was replaced with acrylic. Their constantly warring ancestors owned swords that were far more plain, but very, very sharp. Put it this way: during the long peace of the Edo period, ruling samurai elites carried masterfully crafted katana as ornaments of their position and wealth. Like the 2000GT, the Z432R was handmade, but where the curvaceous Toyota is an object of beauty, the Z432R is a tool of focused performance. What you got for your money was a machine with purity of function. Adjusted for inflation, a Z432R would set you back the equivalent of $60,000 today.
![240z gt legends 240z gt legends](https://www.ultimatespecs.com/cargallery/70/8002/w400_Datsun-S30-2.jpg)
The cost to purchase an ordinary 432 was roughly double that of a normal Z car, but the Z432R cost slightly less. Nineteen road cars are known to have existed, with total Z432R production thought to be less than fifty cars, including racing machines. How many Z432Rs were made is a matter of some contention, as many were used as racing machines by both factory works and privateer teams, and thus never registered. Every year, he drives it between 40 miles, and has been doing so for the past forty years. He shows up at classic car events all over the islands. Takeuchi-san's 918 Orange Z432R is one of the most famous cars in Japan because he is so unselfish with it. In terms of Japanese collector cars, there's the Toyota 2000GT, there's the Z432R, and then there's everything else. Z432Rs hardly ever come up for sale, but last year one sold at auction in Tokyo for 88.55 million Japanese Yen.
![240z gt legends 240z gt legends](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/UmxSziuFR7c/maxresdefault.jpg)
Rare Nissan Z Sells for $800,000 at AuctionĪ normal Z432 in exceptional condition might fetch as much as $200,000 at auction, in line with values for a 1960s Mazda Cosmo.