Z-badge is back where it belongs

By ALASTAIR SLOANE

Japan's oldest carmaker Nissan is the first Japanese carmaker to get caught up in the retro car craze, reviving its famous sports coupe Z-badge from the 1960s with the new 350Z.

The two-door, powered by a 206kW 3.5-litre V6, will be launched in New Zealand next week, priced at $64,990 for the five-speed automatic and $67,990 for the six-speed manual.

Nissan New Zealand has been running a "pre-release" sales campaign for the car similar to the one Nissan ran in the United States and Japan, where 13,000 cars were ordered sight unseen.

The 350Z will contribute to more than one model in the Nissan line-up as the company sets out to recapture its youth, using traditional engineering integrity combined with sportier styling cues. The fourth-generation "Godzilla" GT-R will be built on the 350Z platform and is likely to use a twin-turbocharged version of the same 3.5-litre V6, producing about 300kW and breaking for the first time the unofficial 206kW power limit agreement among Japanese carmakers.

The four-wheel-drive GT-R will be launched at the Tokyo motor show later this year and is expected to follow styling influences from the 2001 concept car. Unlike previous GT-R models, it will be aimed at world markets, specifically European performance marques.

The 350Z arrives more than 30 years after the original 240Z was unveiled at the New York motor show in 1969. The 240Z was sensational and elevated Nissan into the ranks of Jaguar, MG and Alfa Romeo.

But Nissan never built on its success, and when the Z series died in 1996 the company itself nearly followed it.

Nissan began in Japan in 1912 and it wasn't until 50 years later that it built its first sports car, a soft-top known as the Fairlady.

The name came from company president Katsuji Kawamata, inspired by the Broadway musical My Fair Lady on a visit to America in 1958.

Nissan continued to watch events in America and, noting the success of the E-Type Jaguar, came up with the Fairlady's replacement, a 2.4-litre six-cylinder coupe called the 240Z and capable of 210km/h and zero to 100km/h in about nine seconds.

Buyers pounced on the 240Z's combination of style, performance and value. It conquered motorsport, winning the Kenyan Safari rally in 1971 and 1973.

It helped Nissan become the fourth largest carmaker in the world by 1972, with sales in 120 countries.

But by 1974 the 240Z had been replaced by the larger engined 2+2 seater 260Z, and the magic was starting to wane.

Successive Z cars became heavier, uglier and slower. But Nissan says the 350Z returns to the original sporty two-seater formula.