The Turbo was initially available only as a two-seater with a five-speed manual transmission. But with acceleration from zero to 60 mph now taking only a few tenths more than 7. By , the ZX Turbo was also available as a two-plus-two and with a stupidly mismatched three-speed automatic transmission. After the model year, the ZX died a deserved death. And so did the Datsun name after After all, during the model year, Nissan sold 57, of them in the United States. With Newman driving, the team took its first victory in a ZX at Brainerd in The styling was so square as to be virtually featureless, the sometimes engaging straight-six was swapped out in favor of a more powerful SOHC, hp 3.
Throw a turbo on that same engine, and output bounded up to horses. Once again, it was offered in two-seat and two-plus-two versions, and practically nothing carried over from the old ZX to the new ZX.
If anything, the chassis was simultaneously better-handling and better-riding than before. But this first ZX was boring.
Stripped of its heavy civilian duds, the third-gen ZX made a decent competition machine. After all, in stock form it would roar from zero to 60 mph in 7. Nissan made T-tops standard issue on all ZXs, but the car itself was already aging in the market as new competitors emerged. This third generation of Z-cars would linger on through with a few superficial tweaks, but the market was leaving soft cruisers like this behind.
In Nissan sold only of its refreshed third-generation Z in an eye-catching white metallic. The Super Shiro had the best parts of the — ZX Turbo, and added cloth Recaro bucket seats, thicker anti-roll bars, special coil springs, and white inch wheels.
The new ZX was awesome. And the ZX Twin Turbo was flat-out astonishing. Low, wide, and modern, the Z32 was mesmerizing: the first Z-car to set a new sports-car style standard. The suspension was vastly more sophisticated, with A-arms replacing the previous struts up front and an all-new multilink system in the back.
And when two turbochargers were added to the mix to create the ZX Twin Turbo, the result was horsepower. This deep into the 21st century, horses may seem tame for a sports car, but in , it was mind-boggling. The ZX Twin Turbo knocked that down to 5. The Z32 version of the Z-car did carry one massive burden: its own mass.
The sort-of-a-four-seater ZX two-plus-two returned with the fifth-generation Z-car a bit after the two-seater hit showrooms. With a Visually, the two-plus-two was virtually indistinguishable from the two-seater despite the additional length. However, the two-plus-two was never offered with the turbocharged engine. Actually, it was usually the ZX two-plus-two, since the longer wheelbase allowed better weight distribution, including positioning the fuel tank within the wheelbase.
It racked up wins throughout the early s; the pinnacle events came with GTS-class wins in both the 24 Hours of Daytona and Le Mans in , running a production-based twin-turbo V-6 that produced more than horsepower.
A convertible roadster was added to the ZX line for Along with its quick-folding manual top, an integrated roll bar added strength to the structure. Sports cars seemed impractical, frivolous, and expensive. But there were always hints that Nissan was interested in bringing the car back, and it reappeared for the model year as the all-new Z.
With 24 valves, twin-cam heads, variable valve timing, and a stout The VQ may be ordinary, but it can be entertaining when fed through a six-speed manual transmission a five-speed automatic was optional.
But what was truly exciting was how balanced the new car was over its With 53 percent of its pound curb weight over the front wheels, it had quick turn-in and excellent transient responses. It also pulled 0. The Z was strictly a two-seater as Nissan decided not to offer a two-plus-two version.
But a roadster convertible did return. The Track trim came with lightweight wheels and Brembo brakes, but its suspension tuning was the same as all other coupes. The Nissan Z has been succeeded by the Z for the model year. It was announced on October 29, and was first shown at an event in Los Angeles ahead of the Greater LA Auto Show, before being officially unveiled at the show itself.
The Z is the sixth-generation of the Nissan Z-car line, succeeding the Z. Top Gear Wiki Explore. Recent blog posts. Explore Wikis Community Central. Register Don't have an account? It came coupled to a now rare 6-Speed manual gearbox and also packed in an optional viscous limited-slip differential. It was a never before heard proposition, that had people dumbstruck. The Z was a driver's paradise.
It wasn't as light-hearted a car to start with but the Japs sure did know how to fine-tune this machine to bring a wide grin on the driver's face. It weighed in more than a Chevy Corvette of the time that was over 3, lbs. But Nissan was wise to balance out this shortcoming with its multilink front and rear suspension and well-weighted steering wheel.
The pedals were specifically designed for heal-and-toe downshifting and thus began its drifting legacy. With a curb weight of an elephant, the Nissan Z was not so keen on exceptional numbers but it sure did make the most of that V6. The Z did mph in 5. It had an impressive top speed of mph. It didn't compete against any immediate cars in the same price bracket as it was worth well over that.
In fact, the Porsche that did mph in about 4 seconds, looked helpless in front of this Nissan's insane value proposition. All of a sudden, everyone wanted a Z! The Z didn't have a design language that was tasteful. It was something out of the box during the early s and oddly looked like a Bulbasaur!
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