Datsun 240Z Will Be Reimagined As The Nissan Fairlady 480Z
Retro cars are tricky to get right. VW got it mainly right with the Beetle, while the BMW version of the Mini is now more of a Maxi. Morgan is, in reality, a new car with old lines. But let’s not mention the PT-Cruiser of yesteryear.
The thing about the Beetle and the Mini is that they both stayed basically the same shape for decades until their demise. So the designers had to reimagine rather than replicate them. But the Datsun/Nissan Zs have radically evolved over the past 50+ years. The muscular beast of today bears little resemblance to the light and elegant gamechanger of 1969.
Le Yang Bai is a designer that likes to reimagine the old as young again today. He has recreated the young freshness of the 240Z, but s020 styling. Like you when you were 18, but with a better haircut and more money. He calls his design the Fairlady, which was the name of the Japanese car sold in the rest of the world as the Datsun 240Z. He also calls it the 480Z, which doubles the original.
Side-on, from the front and the back, Le Yang Bai’s design evokes the original. It has the original long nose and short fastback rear, while the roofline is exaggeratingly low. It has the same deep-set round headlights and double-decker tail lights. The large grille is represented by a clean scoop.
So it is like 240Z, but new. There is more angular buttressing on the sides and under the headlights are two air scoops. There is no chrome detailing anywhere. The front looks meaner and the hips show aggressive flair. As a concept design the wheels may be a tad big, but why not?
It is known that Nissan is working on a new version of the 370Z, most likely the 400Z. This will most likely have the same monster mill as the Infiniti Q60, a 3-litre V6 Biturbo pumping out more than 300kW. Compare that to the original 240Z with its 2.4-litre straight-six with 112kW on tap.
The Nissan 370Z has been around because it is such a great car. But perhaps maybe, just maybe Nissan can go back to the future and give us what they did in 1969 – something so new, so fresh, it blows your socks off while tearing up the track.
Tags: Datsun
