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Nissan Z: History & Fun Facts

The Z reads as a classic front-engine sports coupe in outline: a hood stretching more than half the car's length, a short greenhouse pushed back near the rear wheels, and a fastback roofline that tapers down to a stubby tail. Those long-hood, short-deck proportions trace directly back to the original 240Z of 1969, a shape the current Z deliberately echoes rather than replaces.

The 1969 Datsun 240Z Original

Nissan, then selling cars under the Datsun brand in America, launched the 240Z for the 1970 model year with a 2.4-liter inline-six, an independent suspension, and a price far below rival European sports cars. It sold so well that it helped establish affordable sports cars as a viable category in the American market.

Six Generations Under Two Brand Names

The Z line has run through the S30, S130, Z31, Z32, Z33, and Z34 chassis codes since 1969, selling as the Datsun 240Z, 260Z, and 280Z before the Nissan badge fully replaced Datsun in the 1980s. Each generation kept some version of the long-hood, short-deck layout even as the styling grew more aggressive through the 1980s and 1990s.

A Gap Before the 2023 Return

Nissan ended production of the previous 370Z generation in 2020 without an immediate replacement, leaving a gap before the new Z, internally coded RZ34, launched for the 2023 model year. That new Z deliberately borrowed styling cues from the original 240Z's round headlights and long hood to connect the newest car to its earliest ancestor.

A Twin-Turbo V6 Shared With Infiniti

The current Z uses a 3.0-liter twin-turbocharged V6 called the VR30DDTT, the same basic engine found in Infiniti's Q50 and Q60 models, tuned here to produce 400 horsepower. That twin-turbo six sits entirely behind the front axle under the long hood shown in this outline, a placement that keeps the nose low and the weight balanced toward the middle of the car.

A Manual Transmission Stays Standard

Nissan kept a six-speed manual transmission as a genuine standard option on the current Z, alongside an available nine-speed automatic, at a time when many rival sports cars had dropped manual gearboxes entirely. That manual-first approach helped the Z stand out among enthusiasts shopping for an affordable rear-wheel-drive sports coupe.

Retro Cues Built Into a Modern Shape

Designers gave the current Z round headlights and a subtle hood crease that echo the original 240Z, while the greenhouse shape borrows from the 300ZX generation of the early 1990s. Blending those two eras into one silhouette was a deliberate choice to make the new Z instantly recognizable as part of the same 50-year lineage.

Built at the Same Tochigi Plant as the GT-R

Nissan assembles the Z at its Tochigi plant in Japan, the same facility responsible for building the GT-R, giving both performance models a shared home even though they serve very different price points. That shared plant lets Nissan apply similar hand-finishing standards to both cars despite the Z costing a fraction of the GT-R's price.