the true 2005 350Z may like fish 'n chips...

[xray]

Just had a great time watching Top Gear on Discovery Channel tonight and realized that the true heir to the Z throne may lie across the pond. The TVR T350 (and big brother Sagaris) looks like what Nissan should have done to reinvent the Z....3.6l inline 6, 350 bhp, six-speed manual, 0-60 in 4.4sec...any thoughts?

If only they still imported them to the States...Sigh. I hear rumor the new owner is eager to get TVR back on the map, including US importation, so there may be hope!

Steve

[Fun_in_my_z]

Looks dumb. Should have brought back the S30!

[bemmerguy714]

i think that would have been so nice! i would have gotten one of those. then again the 350z arent bad thou. if i had the money id get one.

[SteveJ]

Looks dumb. Should have brought back the S30!

Nissan did bring back the S30. Not many people wanted them. The refreshed 240Zs just did not sell.

If you are talking about "re-inventing" the 240Z, you need to qualify that statement.

Are you referring to a car that does 0-60 in about 8 seconds?

Are you referring to a car that does not come with air conditioning?

Are you referring to a car that does not have much insulation and allows road noise to come in?

I don't think Nissan built the current Z for many of the S30 owners. They built it for the current market.

Frankly, I love my noisy, not-so-fast car that bakes in the summer sun. However, I don't think I would have a good home life if I tried to convince the wife we should plunk down $25K or so on a new car just like it.

Take a shot. Describe what you would expect a modern S30 to be like. (Don't forget to account for the rules put in place by the US Federal alphabet soup bureaucracy.)

[BuDavid]

sorry but I'm not sure that I understud the case here, did anybody say the reproduced the S30's sometime after 1978??

SteveJ:

Are you referring to a car that does 0-60 in about 8 seconds?

Are you referring to a car that does not come with air conditioning?

Are you referring to a car that does not have much insulation and allows road noise to come in?

yes I do, if it will cost an ammount within a reasonable range!

is it possible to reproduct one??? I'm so concerned!

[SteveJ]

sorry but I'm not sure that I understud the case here, did anybody say the reproduced the S30's sometime after 1978??

SteveJ:

Are you referring to a car that does 0-60 in about 8 seconds?

Are you referring to a car that does not come with air conditioning?

Are you referring to a car that does not have much insulation and allows road noise to come in?

yes I do, if it will cost an ammount within a reasonable range!

is it possible to reproduct one??? I'm so concerned!

Nissan did a program in the United States where the company purchased many 70-72 240Zs and turned them over to a couple of the best Datsun people in California to refresh/restore them. The cars were sold at 10 selected Nissan dealerships complete with a 12 month/12,000 mile warranty. The asking price was approximately $30,000.

To actually produce a completely brand new S30 would be difficult to impossible. The tooling is long gone and many parts are no longer available.

[daddz]

SteveJ,

My sentiments are the same. About 4 or 5 years ago I was mailed a survey from Nissan which entailed alot of questions regarding what the next Z car should be. My response basically stated that a new Z car should have similar proportions to the Jaguar E type, 240Z, Toyota 2000GT, Ferrari 275GTB/4. I was basically drawing a picture of a modern interpretation of the old S30. The 350Z is not what I had in mind but, yet I bought one anyways and I don't regret being a part of the experience and the car is not terrible either.

If only someone would undertake a venture similar to the 'heritage body shell' program that was done in England. If you owned a rusty MGB or TR-6 you could simply purchase a brand new bodyshell which was made using the original tooling. This exercise is pricey but, as an S30 owner it would be the next best thing to buying a 'new' S30 Z car. If only the S30 had been kept in production in the same manner that the Porsche 911 has been since 1963.

[jmark]

I agree 100% daddz. To me it is hard to believe my '71 240Z is 35 years old. I see why this car took the US by storm. There was nothing like it for the money. It's really cool to still the S30's racing in the ITS class and still being competitive with mid 90's BMW etc. It is truly a landmark car in spite of what Brock Yates says on the Barrett Jackson Auto Auction.

[daddz]

Mark,

I have almost given up on those 'experts' at Barrett Jackson, especially Keith whats-his-name that publishes some type of magazine 'Sports Car Marketplace'? On one of those telecasts they received a number of emails concerning the collectability of Japanese cars and the response from Brock Yates (or Keith Maney) was that 'they built too many of those cars to ever be collectible'? Give me a break! They made how many gazillion Mustangs and you would think there are only ten left in the world the way they comment laboriously on each and every one that crosses the line. Compare that with the late model '88 300ZX Turbo SE "Shiro" of which only 1000 were produced and countless others like the Mazda RX-7 GTUs of which only 100 were made! Granted when our Japansese cars were new they were used and through attrition there aren't many left in good condition and when you couple that with the historical significance our early Japanese cars possess you run into collectible status.

With events like the Japanese Classic Car Show in Long Beach and others like it we may be able to replace the Brock Yates' of the world with knowledgeable car people.

Sorry for going way off topic here but I couldn't help it.

BTW, the TVR roadtest was awesome to watch and the exhaust note of that inline 6 was incredible. Does anyone know where that engine is sourced from? If only the TVR's weren't so expensive.

[jmark]

Exactly the show I was talking about. I heard that comment and could not believe my ears. How many freakin Chevys, Buicks and other piece of crap cars do you think were built? These cars were crap when new. Now people act like they are priceless gems. The Z was/is a landmark vehicle. Many were built and with time very few have survived. Mr. K has stated before the Z was never built to be around 35 years later. True car people know what the Z meant to the world. Thankfully the market is starting to realize the significance of this car. My son & I watched the TVR test. I like the car and wish the 350Z was more raw like it and the original 240Z.

[daddz]

Hopefully we have rounded the corner on early Z car collectability. It seems as though there is more interest in saving some of the survivor cars. I think most realize that the early Z will never appraise for Aston Martin money which makes saving the early Z all the more a noble cause because we don't do it with profit in mind. In the case of my '72 Celica while it may be appreciated the prices have remained in the basement for good early stock configured examples. I also wish the 350Z was more petite and basic like the TVR.

[hls30.com]

Never forget the goobers at Barret Jackson are NOT Car people, they are sales people. The rarest cars don't bring the most money, the most popular cars do. They will build up what is HOT on the block by bashing what is not-if and when the Z gets to big dollars, they will say the exact same things about the millions of American Muscle Cars made-they are, at the end of the day, after the dollars are deposited, only used car salesmen-exactly like those at your local POS sales lot! They will say anything that they think will help them make-or keep-a sale, and shut up about anything that won't.

Will