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Fifty years ago in New York City, Datsun unveiled the 240Z, an affordable, elegant six-cylinder sports car that outperformed Britain’s best and looked great doing it. Last night, Nissan unveiled the 50th Anniversary 370Z, which pays tribute to one very special 240.
NISSAN
As soon as the 240Z arrived on American shores, it was turned into a race car. Brock Racing Enterprises, Peter Brock’s team, dominated SCCA C-Production competition in 1970 and 1971. The BRE 240Zs all wore a red, white and blue livery designed by Brock that quickly became iconic.
The 50th Anniversary 370Z pays tribute to those race cars in beautiful fashion. Brock himself was at the unveiling last night, and he was thrilled with the way the car came out. Nissan will offer a mere 50 examples of the red-and-white 370Z 50th anniversary edition—all of which are sold out—while the remainder will be silver and black.
Beyond the paint and various pieces of interior trim, this is the same 370Z we’ve come to know over the last 10 years. That means you get a 332-hp, 3.7-liter naturally aspirated V-6 paired with either a six-speed manual or a seven-speed auto. You also get 19-inch RAYS forged wheels wrapped in Bridgestone S007 tires—the same rubber you get on an Aston Martin DB11.
In creating a livery for the 50th Anniversary Z, Nissan couldn’t have picked anything other but the BRE 240Z for inspiration. Along with BRE’s legendary Datsun 510 Trans-Am race cars, the red, white and blue 240Zs were instrumental in making the Datsun brand a household name in the US. Nissan might not have become the success it is today without the BRE 240Z.
A BRE Datsun 240Z.
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