The racing Z432R shed its heater, radio and clock to lose 100 kilograms
Nissan's Z432R was built to race, and it showed. Its body panels used thinner steel, the bonnet was fibreglass, and every window except the windscreen was acrylic. There was no heater, radio, clock or glovebox. Fewer than 50 were made, and in January 2020 one sold in Japan for about 837,000 US dollars.
The Z432R was the extreme end of the S30, the first of Nissan's Z sports cars, built from 1969 to 1978. At home it was the Fairlady Z; export buyers knew it as the Datsun 240Z, 260Z and 280Z. The idea came from Yutaka Katayama, head of Nissan's American arm and widely called Mister K, and the styling from a team led by Yoshihiko Matsuo.
Its appeal was simple. Four-wheel independent suspension and an overhead-camshaft six-cylinder engine were features of costly European machines such as the Jaguar E-Type, yet rivals at a similar price, like the MGB and Alfa Romeo Spider, made do with four cylinders and live rear axles. Buyers noticed, the press was enthusiastic, and waiting lists formed at once. As a halo model it helped change the image of Japanese carmakers from economy specialists, aided by Datsun's wide dealer network.
Japan received special versions. The Z432 borrowed the twin-cam S20 six from the Skyline GT-R, and its name spells out four valves per cylinder, three Mikuni carburettors and two camshafts; about 420 were built, some for the police. The lighter R version added a 100-litre fuel tank that swallowed the spare-wheel well, and every one was painted orange. The 240ZG, with its long fibreglass aero-dyna nose and riveted wheel-arch extensions, existed to qualify the car for Group 4 racing.
Early American 240Zs had two vents in the rear hatch, removed in mid-1971 after complaints that exhaust was drawn into the cabin. In 2004 Sports Car International ranked the 240Z second among the top sports cars of the 1970s.
Source: Nissan Fairlady Z (S30)
