rnye

I want a miata sized, 2400lbs, 2.4l,$24k Z. 240sx reincarnate for modern reference.. Just keep it stupid simple and cheap.

datbino

not allowed anymore. crash, safety, and emissions regulations have cursed all future cars to be heavy....

the gt-86 would be sub 2300lbs if it was built back when the s2000 came out

TheDonEffect

Yeah seriosly, people make the Z out to be some abomination but in fact it is a great car. Problem, or strength depending who you're asking, is that it is a one size fit all type of car so it doesnt nail any one thing but does alot of things reasonably well.
In any rate, I don't think the engine is the source of the weight issues, but rather them using a platform used for sedans. But I read a while back that Nissan is going back to simplicity, i.e. lighter and cheaper. I could also it being in the ballpark price wise to the 86 cars.

Christople

NSX/LFA out of price range for me. What R36? Last I heard, it might get shelved because Nissan can't make a profit off it

Mr.E.G.

LOL. Okay.

TypeSH

The Z pretty much cleaned up in all the comparisons in '09 when it came out. So it has been surpassed since then but it is still a great car and with the $4k discount on the '14 base models it is a performance bargain again.
I've had a few Z's and find it silly that so many uninformed people try to morph the next Z into something it hasn't ever been, a lightweight. The original 240z was not light for its day compared to other two seat sports cars. It was considered a GT sports car then as the current Z is considered now.

ZDan

B.S. 240Z wasn't an ultralight by 1970 standards like the Elan, but it WAS quite lightweight relative to most cars and *certainly* wasn't a heavy-weight sports car (Aston Martin, Corvette, Daytona) either.

1970 Corvette: 3300 lb.
1970 240Z: 2300 lb. (1000 lb. lighter!)

2013 Corvette: 3300 lb. (no change)
2013 370Z: 3300 lb. (+1000 lb. heavier vs 1970!)

The 370Z is simply the 2-seat version of a luxury sedan.
The 240Z was a genuinely small and relatively lightweight dedicated sports car.

I've driven many different Z's as an instructor at Z convention track days, and there's just no denying that the current Z is NOT by any stretch a modern 240Z. There simply *isn't* a modern version of the 240Z on the market. The S2000 is the only car in recent memory that comes close.

TypeSH

Read an original 1970 240z review.

The people at Datsun balk at calling the 240Z a sports car. To them it's a "personal" GT car. Even so, they know perfectly well who the customers will be-sports car buyers-adventuresome young Americans who were collecting their dollars for an Opel GT or MGB-GT or Porsche 914 until something better came along and changed their minds.

Go look up what a 1970 Opel GT or MGB-GT or Porsche 914 weighed.

ZDan

People will always have different definitions of "sports car".

Doesn't change the FACT that 2300 lb. was pretty lightweight in 1970, and 3300 lb. is NOT today.

Again, Corvette gained ZERO weight between 1970 and now. The Z gained 1000 lb. Enough that it is simply not in the same class of sports or GT car as the 240Z was in 1970.

The Corvette is the "standard candle", it's the only sports/GT car that hasn't really MOVED over the decades. Roughly the same size, weight, performance, price point vs. eons ago.

By this standard, the Z has become a real porker. As has just about everything else...

Anyway, again I've driven a TON of Z's over the years, and the new ones simply are not the same type of car as the 240Z was in 1970.

For everyone's edification, the 6 cylinder 914 (the only one that would hold a candle to the 240Z performance-wise) was only about 130 lb. lighter than the 240Z. The 4-cylinder 914 was a little more than 200 lb. lighter at just under 2100 lb.

The MGB-GT was just about 2300 lb., same as the Z. WAY slower...

The Opel GT was a legitimately smaller and lighter car, at about 2000 lb. Acceleration to 60 measured in minutes...

TypeSH

You didn't read the article. It has the same ethos as the original.