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[Home] [History - The Z] |
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|Intro| |1960's| |1969| |1970| |1971| |1972| |1973| |1974| |1975| |1976| |1977| |1978| |1979| |
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BUILDING THE LEGEND In May 1972, the Car& driver reader’s choice poll saw the 240Z voted into the top slot of not only the $3-5000 sports car section, but also the best all-round car. For a number of years, teh Chevolet Corvette had held this title, but times were changing. In the following month, Road & Track published its Owners Survey on the 240Z. Performance, handling, comfort, calue and interior wer epicked out as the best five features. The worst five were said to be high speed handling, poor build quality, a fragile body, reaction to sidewinds and sacrcity of parts. In England, the Autocar ran a special “Japanese Cars Number” in August 1972. In it, Jeffrey Daniels noted that the 240Z offered a “prestige” car for Datsun’s range. By current reckoning it was the best selling sports car in the world, thanks to massive sales in America, and it’s competition record has done teh firm an immense service. The 1972 Earls Court Motor Show guide listed the 240Z at £2,309, about twice the price of a basic Bluebird. the description of the car was as follows: “Known in sporting circles as the big Healey replacement, the 2.4 litre overhead camshaft engine has twin carburettors and develops 151bhp (SAE) so with its dry weight of less than a ton it just has to be rapid” At that time, the 3-litre Triumph Stag was priced from £2,399, and there was no benefit in performance. Fuel economy was worse, as well, and it would soon acquire a bad reputation for reliability. (being voted worst car of the year didn’t help). The Ford Capri, however, was serious competition. At just £1,777, it offered 122 mph top speed and an average of 24 mpg. mark hughes conducted a test between the 240Z and the 3000GXL for Classic & Sportscar. “Both cars were exceptionally well received at the time, and similar enough in concept to be considered close rivals. Which is the best car? I think it has to be the 240Z for its purer sporting caharacter. But if I had been buying one at the time, I’d have found it the Capri had to beat on price” It was an obvious problem, and the main reason why the roads of England were full of Capris whilst the Z remained a rarity. Even by the end of 1972, less than 700 240Zs had been sold in Britain. SALES
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