The Datsun 240Z was the game-changer that the Japanese needed to break into the American auto market, and it did break into the market gracefully.

Earlier on, when Datsun started producing its vehicles, they all came in box-like shape cases that made them look like some piece of engines in boxes. This was the popular stuff then, until 1970 when Datsun finally decided to make something different from what people knew it for.

The result of this is the Datsun 240Z, a cool two-door coupe sports car. This caught a lot of people's fancies and gave the Japanese auto company a name in the United States.

The 240Z came into the market to compete with several other fancy cars at that time. These included the MGB GT, which had been in production 5 years before the 240Z, the Opel GT, and the Porsche 914. These all had their sporty characteristics and were well-performing sports cars at the time of the production of the 240Z. What then makes Datsun's 240Z any different from the others?

Let's take a look at some features of this sports car.

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How Well Datsun Sports Car Performed

Sung Kang's Datsun-240Z engine
Via-gtr registry

No one would want to buy a sports car without looking up its performance. Why would anyone call it a sports car without a great performance in the first place?

When it comes to performance, power and speed are two important factors to look out for in any sports car, and Datsun didn't disappoint in this.

The 240Z has something one could refer to as remarkable during its time. With a 2.4 inline-six engine that produces 151-hp, the car can reach a top speed of 126 mph and can go from 0-60 in eight seconds. This is not what you'd expect in any modern sports car, but for its time, it had a fairly decent performance, one that could compete with its rivals.

Power transmission is through a five-speed manual gearbox, and the car is rear-wheel drive. These figures gave it an edge over some of its competitors at its time, including the MGB GT and the Opel GT, that both have a top speed of 115mph. Even though the Japanese car did something good with the performance of its car, it had something even better, the looks. This, we, can confidently call its best feature.

The 240Z Has A Good Look To Complement A Good Performance

1620px-Datsun_240Z_front-right_2016_Shanghai_Auto_Museum
by Morio, Wikimedia Commons

When it comes to looks, the Datsun 240Z has the exact look anyone would expect for a sports car. What could be better than an affordable and good performance sports car with an attractive exterior?

Besides its fairly good performance, the external features of this two-door coupé says it all. The Japanese got tired of their boxy cars, so they gave the 240Z what it deserves; a sporty and an aggressive body shape.

Dumping its boxes, Datsun made something different for its first Z car, a stylish-looking body that has a long hood and a short rear - a typical sports car design. This design is what you would find in some modern-day sports cars such as many modern Ferrari models.

The protruded front bumper fits into the fender just perfectly, giving the circular headlights the perfect view.

The sides have flowing lines with no interruption with B-pillars, and the short rear is just all the car needs to have that great look.

One could arguably say that Yoshihiko Matsuo, the designer of the Datsun 240Z, did a very good job, and his design was way ahead of its time. This has to be the best feature of Datsun's sports car.

Not only is the car beautiful, but Datsun also combined this with something great - affordability. At the time of the production of the Datsun 340Z, when compared to other sports cars, it was the most affordable. It had a starting price of $3,500. This was way lower than its competitors that were thousands of dollars more expensive than it was. This gave the car an edge in the auto market, and the Japanese auto company responded by producing more of them. However, today, the price of the 240Z keeps skyrocketing with the breaking of each new day.

One downside however about the beautiful sculpture of the 240Z is that it rusts. This is because some of its parts hold water, especially on the outside.

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Simplicity Is All That Is Needed

Orange Datsun_240Z rear-right
By Morio, Wikimedia Commons

The roomy luxurious interior of the 240Z has a beautiful and simple look, unique in its way. The dashboard has the typical style of the 70s, containing several gauges arranged in a way that gives the dash a wave-like shape.

The laying out of the vents are in a very simple manner, and the same goes for the steering column; simple and cool. No extra knob or button to add weight to the car. All these make the car light weighted and easy to control.

To cap it all, the all black vinyl and plastic covering of the interior of the car complements everything about it. Datsun really gave us enough reasons to love the Datsun 240z - simplicity, performance and affordability.

Datsun made the car well set up for both everyday driving and highway cruising - a precious delight. The Datsun 240Z is a sports car considered one of the most important classics in history.