ZED CARS THE GAME-CHANGERS

DURING THE EARLY 70S the question being asked by puzzled owners and vendors of traditional sports cars might well have been: "Who's killing the great sporting marques of Europe?" Avoiding for a moment economic events of the time, the answer was "Nissan and the 240Z".

Nissan had built its first sports car in 1959; a bulbous, fibreglass-bodied roadster with a one-litre engine and two-tone paintwork. Compared to BMC's Sprite and the Triumph Spitfire which between them were carving up the world market for minimalist open-top machinery, Nissan's 500 sales represented a drip in the bucket. Four years later came a far more serious contender, this time aimed at the MGB and Triumph TR market.

The Datsun 1500 Fairlady combined attractive styling with adequate performance but its major point of difference was a spacious, well-equipped cockpit aimed at satisfying the American preference for sports cars that were comfortable rather than quick. A 1.6-litre version followed in 1965 but it was 1967 before Nissan addressed market demand.