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Design Study: Nissan 240/Fairlady Z successor
Click above for a high-res gallery.
Nissan's plans for an affordable, rear-wheel-drive coupe to slot in below the current Z have been rumored for years and we've been informed that internal politics have killed off at least one revival of an iconic Datsun. If work ever gets underway on another budget coupe, Nissan should seriously pursue Polish designer Iacoski and his interpretation of a 240Z/Fairlady revival.
Aft of the a-pillar, Iacoski's inspiration is clearly apparent, blending the old 240's slopping roofline and short rear overhangs with the muscular haunches and angled fender flares of the current 350Z. Up front, the Photoshop wizard retained the old Fairlady's elongated hood and power bulge, and matched them with a front air dam, bumper and headlamp arrangement influenced by the second GTR Proto concept.
We're totally smitten and think you'll be equally entertained when you check out the gallery of images below.
Gallery: Iacoski Datsun 240Z/Fairlady
[Source: Digimods via NihonCar]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
Kumail891 6:28PM (8/20/2008)
wow, this is very impressive, but stop drawing and start building!
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Lad 12:02AM (8/21/2008)
I have two: a '71 for the street and a '73 with lots of mods for the track...'82 turbo engine, coil overs, roll cage, etc. The 240Z was a car in the right price range with decent street power and set a standard for low cost sport cars. The down side is it is not very aerodynamic and lacks the airflow engineering of the GTR. The upside is you can gut them out to about 2200lbs, add turbo power and blow away most of the heavier nanny packed Evos...loads of fun! If you can find a used one in good shape, it's a must buy. I would buy a new one if they can keep the weight down and put a turbo four in it. Something around 2000-2500lbs with about 300 foot lbs would work just fine
ChopperDave 6:34PM (8/20/2008)
Want.
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MikeofLA 6:37PM (8/20/2008)
Wow, that is awesome. I've always loved the 240z's. If they make this a light, 2.4L turbo 4, it will be a really fun car.
Do Want
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Fooman 6:48PM (8/20/2008)
Og Z's have inline 6's which I would take over a turbo 4 in a heartbeat.
Franz 6:42PM (8/20/2008)
This may sound surprising, but I'm not all that impressed. Instead of sticking a version of the GT-R's blunted snout on this thing, he should've gone with a longer more elegant nose mimicking the original Z car... the long hood & headlights already lend themselves to it. Then it'd have been truly sweet.
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Adam Marcello 7:30PM (8/20/2008)
I agree. The squared off lines and semi GTR styling seems forced. The hood looks undeniably 240 which is great but the front end lacks any angles but 90 degrees and that goes against everything 240.
azzo45 7:45PM (8/20/2008)
Agreed... With all the retro cars out there, what the hell is wrong with doing a proper 240Z? Sure the 240Z would make the 350Z look like A$$... but Nissan can figure out that issue!!! :) :)
My Dad had a '71 Datsun 240Z & except for the rust that eventually killed it... it was a sweet car. a "new" 240Z based on the original would absolutely work. Ford proved it with the late 60s GT40 Design
Great design is TIMELESS!!!
foofighter 6:45PM (8/20/2008)
what would be hot if they did a B210 revival...like how bmw is trying to do w/ the 1 series
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Dasupersprint 6:47PM (8/20/2008)
I've been dreaming about my own 135i for weeks now...if the production version looks like this, I'd be confused...
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Fooman 6:47PM (8/20/2008)
Wow I like, nicely brings back the early Z car look! Too bad it will not look like this at all....
Problem with this car is the hood proportions are out of whack to what we have already seen.
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Travis 11:24AM (9/04/2008)
911 turbo? But seriously if that was on the market I would be very interested.
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JDub 6:49PM (8/20/2008)
yuk, its fine as a design study, but as a production car it doesnt work
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iceman7 6:49PM (8/20/2008)
GTR + EVO X ... still pretty cool.
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Jrejre 6:51PM (8/20/2008)
It's not doing much for me. It'd help to see more angles but from these it looks like a boxy 350z with a gtr-ish front end.
Rather have an original datsun 240z...
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Torrent 6:54PM (8/20/2008)
Let it stay a rendering and not a production car. I mean it doesn't look bad, but it doesn't look good, either.
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why not the LS2LS7? 7:01PM (8/20/2008)
Wait, I think I've seen that somewhere before.
I'm not surprised someone thinks Nissan should make a $25K car that looks like their $70K car. But if that's sensible, why not put the looks on their $15K car! That'd be real gold.
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JunkStory 7:40PM (8/20/2008)
I'm a fan of the Z, and I'm a fan of the GTR, but I think this rendering is very ugly because of the retro 80's look. Going back in time and mimicking an old car is not a bad thing, but the target market is most likely a niche market.
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havoc 8:58PM (8/20/2008)
YES
build it
i like the nostalgic Z lines of the hood roof and the slope into the cargo/hatch area
much better than the 350 or 370
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Bob 7:22PM (8/20/2008)
Wow! YES PLEASE.
Just put the GT-R's DCT transmission in it and it's good to go!
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