Nissan Z-car - History

History

Nissan was a relatively small company when in the 1960s it partnered with Yamaha to design a new sports car prototype. Nissan executives saw the prototype as a halo car that would improve their company's image in the minds of consumers. By 1964 Nissan realized that Yamaha's DOHC 2.0-liter engine was not meeting Nissan's expectations and the project was scrapped. Yamaha later finished a prototype and took their design to Toyota, resulting in the Toyota 2000GT. Yutaka Katayama, the president of Nissan USA at the time, realized the importance of an affordable sports car. Nissan had already produced the successful series of Fairlady roadsters that competed mainly with English and Italian roadsters, and product planners envisioned a new line of GT cars that would be stylish, innovative, fast, and relatively inexpensive through the use of interchangeable parts with other Nissan vehicles. Prototype work began in 1966 with a clay mockup.

The 240Z design project was carried out primarily by 10 people:

• Mr. Yutaka Katayama (President of Nissan USA, known as "Mr. K")
• Mr. Teiichi Hara (Manager, Nissan Design and Development)
• Mr. Kazumi Yotsurnoto (Manager, Passenger Car Styling Section)
• Mr. Yoshihiko Matsuo (Chief of Design, Styling Studio #4)
• Mr. Akio Yoshida (Assistant Designer on Exterior Design)
• Mr. Sue Chiba (Interior Design)
• Mr. Eiichi Oiwa (Styling Studio Assistant)
• Mr. Kiichi Nishikawa (Styling Studio Assistant)
• Mr. Hidemi Kamahara (Design Engineer)
• Mr. Tsuneo Benitani (Design Engineer)