DATSUN 240Z

We’ve had a thing about Datsun’s sporty Z cars since when they were the hottest, newest sporty Jap on the market. Call the designation the Fairlady if you like, but we’ll always think of the long nosed beauty as the Z-car. The popularity of the Z cars is perennial and understandable. I mean just look at the thing. It is automotive prettiness incarnate. We particularly dig the Datsun 240z: the earliest manifestation of the Z car that hit the market right at the start of the seventies.

Despite this appeal, these baby’s are surprisingly affordable. Just look at THIS ONE for sale at a reasonable price, tricked out and apparently clean as a whistle.

We think what’s at work here is simple, plain old fashioned brand snobbery. In this country, the Datsun moniker is, well, less than glamourous, and for some even the upgraded Nissan ident doesn’t do a lot to get the classicist juices flowing. But look: this is an extremely able, relatively rare GT with renowned reliability and the sort of panache that you only get from a Japanese GT of the seventies. We reckon this stock is bound to rise…