Latest news with #Datsun240Z
The Drive
14-05-2025
- Automotive
- The Drive
Basic Is Back: Here Are the De Tomaso P72's Best Throwback Details
The latest car news, reviews, and features. De Tomaso is back with a new production-spec supercar called the P72. Pretty much everybody loves it, and for good reason—it's gorgeous. Not only that, but it's a staunchly old-school affair, rocking a 700-horsepower, 605 lb-ft supercharged 5.0-liter cross-plane Ford Coyote V8 that's been tuned by Roush and mated to a six-speed manual transmission. Officially billed as 'a tribute to an era when man and machine moved in perfect harmony,' this glorious, screen-free exercise in nostalgia is stubbornly analog in its details, too; you could almost call it basic. But, if you haven't heard, basic is cool again. Here are four refreshingly throwback touches on the P72 that deserve to make a comeback on performance cars that aren't Italian carbon unobtanium. The inclusion of a manual gearbox would be analog enough on its own, but De Tomaso went several steps further by blessing the P72 with a shifter linkage that's completely and beautifully exposed. De Tomaso Granted, that other boutique Italian supercar maker Pagani has been doing similar shifters for a while, but it doesn't make the P72's setup any less glorious. Also, there's something to be said about this one's swoopy, very extra, almost art deco brushed-bronze style that you don't get with the Paganis. Like pretty much every performance car post-S2000 and every car period post, like, 2012, the P72 appears to feature push-button start. Note the 'START' button in the center of the row of five located below the three analog dials (more on those later). Look to the left of this, however, is something many modern drivers have not seen in a while: a slot for a key. Top Gear got hands-on with this car and detailed the start-up process: Place the leather-lined key fob into the little triangular recessed section aft of the gear knob and press down. Remove the milled physical key into the steering-column slot and twist. Press the START button. Unnecessary? Yes. Convoluted? Sure, maybe a little. Cool as hell? You bet. De Tomaso As another wholly unnecessary but pointed design decision, the P72 dedicates a whole lot of dashboard real estate to three analog gauges measuring oil pressure, oil temperature, and battery voltage. It's a classic race car layout stemming from an era of mostly endurance racers in which keeping an eye on that stuff really mattered. It trickled into road-going performance cars around the '60s and stuck around for a while, but these days, its inclusion is mostly a nostalgia play. The old Datsun 240Z famously had a rendition of this, as did every Z car that followed, including the new one you can likely find at your local Nissan dealer. So, yeah, there's one thing the new Nissan Z has in common with the De Tomaso P72. Arguably popularized by the likes of BMW and later adopted by almost every new car available no matter how pedestrian, drive modes surprisingly aren't a thing with the P72. Granted, the push-rod suspension system features dampers that are manually adjustable, but that's it. No knobs or buttons that alter throttle response, steering weight, or how red your gauges are. You just get in it and drive. On specs and facts alone, De Tomaso's new baby sounds like it'll be a car you'll want to drive, too, 'cause it's built around a carbon unibody monocoque, the entire body is also carbon, and its Ford-sourced V8 is assembled by hand and is said to feature a header design inspired by the '60s. The six-speed manual's gear ratios were tuned for entertaining in-gear performance, not top speed. True to its name, only 72 of these things will ever be made, but between this and that one electric truck everybody won't stop talking about, basic is back and hopefully the likes of Ferrari and Lamborghini will jump on the bandwagon soon. Got a tip or question for the author about the P72? You can reach him here: Chris Tsui is The Drive's Reviews Editor. He oversees the site's car reviews operation in addition to pitching in on industry news and writing his own evaluations of the latest rides. He lives in Toronto.
Yahoo
24-02-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Beautiful One-Owner 1972 Datsun 240Z Rescued And Restored
Read the full story on Backfire News For many, the Datsun 240Z was a first love, or at least one that has slipped away. To see one almost perfectly preserved in a US Army veteran's personal garage is enough to take your breath away. It's even enough to make Dennis Collins, a famed hunter of rare rides, take a step back and has shared his experience of not only seeing this special classic Nissan sports car for the first time, but how it came out after his restoration team aimed to correct even the smallest of issues. Not that there are many of those, thanks to meticulous care paid to the special ride for decades. The first and only owner of this 240Z tells Dennis he was in the US Army and stationed in Africa, in Ethiopia to be exact, when he bought the car. The Army had the Datsun shipped to him so he could drive it while in Africa, then shipped it back to the States when his deployment was over. Originally, the guy was supposed to get a red car with tan interior. We've seen plenty of 240Zs with that color scheme and they always look nice. But this lime paint (Nissan calls it Yellow along with Code 919, if that isn't confusing. That's why some people call is Tennis Ball or Highlighter instead.) isn't nearly as common and it's actually pretty cool to see, especially in such excellent condition. Speaking of that, with just 38,000 miles on the Datsun, there isn't much wrong with it. Sure, it hasn't run since the early 90s, but the Fairlady Z isn't a mess. To get it out of the garage where it's sitting, the guys just have to install the rear struts and put the wheels back on. All the original documents for the car are present and in excellent condition. Plus, the man kept his license plate from Ethiopia, which is part of the Z's story. After two and a half years of work, Collins shows the breathtaking results. The 240Z has been restored to its original glory and you should watch the video to see it in detail. Images via Dennis Collins/YouTube
Yahoo
18-02-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Driving a Vintage Datsun 240Z Is All About Process
Process can feel like it envelops our lives. The hurdles that stand between you and your gratification are an increasing annoyance in the modern world. Everything should be at our fingertips, right? Yet, when it comes to older cars, process can be a huge part of the appeal. Firing up this pristine 1973 Datsun 240Z, part of Nissan's Heritage collection in Nashville, Tennessee, required the sort of process regular users would come to relish. After slinking into the leveled-out, black leather seat, I was instructed to pull the center-console-mounted choke back about halfway, using my index and middle fingers to roll the tensioned plastic paddle into place. A precautionary clutch depression and neutral check came next—there was no electrical interlock to stop me starting the car in gear—and then I turned the key. The 2.4-liter inline-six started on the first crank, with the 240Z's expert custodian telling me to let it idle high until the dash-mounted temperature gauge hit the "t" in "temp." Getting moving in a 1973 Datsun 240Z is easy, so long as you follow these simple steps. First, wipe your brain of the rev-hanging, ultralight-feeling manual-transmission cars that have been built more recently. The tall, narrowly gated shift pattern on the 240Z engages gears that require a decent amount of effort on the wooden knob. The shift action isn't rewarding in terms of slickness or snickiness, but nailing the timing between the long throw, the falling engine revolutions, and the lengthy clutch travel feels hugely rewarding when it results in a smooth shift. Parts of the experience feel old and obviously different, but much felt delightfully fresh: This lovingly preserved Datsun wears its 52 years lightly. Driving past the business parks and millionaire ranches outside Franklin, Tennessee, brought an immediate reminder of the manual labor required to drive cars of this era. Maneuvering the 240Z isn't difficult, despite the absence of power assistance for the steering and braking systems. A few mph make all the difference in steering weight, and contemporary highway speeds create a steering response that feels downright twitchy, every surface imperfection faithfully reported by the dainty wooden steering wheel. Despite the lack of a booster, brake-pedal response felt more eager than most modern powered systems. The weight of the pedal took a little getting used to—a much firmer push is necessary to get the calipers clamping—but once the brakes wake up, they bite strongly enough. But because stopping distances are often defined by the vehicles around you, and almost all of the cars around me as I drove the Z had ABS and modern tires, I kept a cautious distance. The Datsun's heart is the key to its timeless merit. Making 151 hp and 146 lb-ft of torque from 2.4 liters of displacement was deeply impressive for the time when so many rivals used big, dumb powerplants, and the inline-six is still sonorous and smooth. It sounds great too, with an intake rasp in the cabin that adds character without becoming too loud. There is muscle at both ends of the rev range, with ample torque down low and when pushed toward the 7000-rpm redline. Working against a curb weight of just 2350 pounds, performance is brisk: The 240Z is definitely fast enough to require extra planning on modern roads. Wheeling the 240Z through the stunning scenery, I was thinking about every move well ahead of the need to make it—and not because I was driving particularly fast. The Z's skinny tires and a slightly damp surface promote an excess of caution in what is a literal museum piece, as does the fact that only a lap belt is keeping me in place. While controls are light, it is hard to maintain confidence and drive the Datsun quickly. There is an underlying unpredictability to its responses. And yet, I fell in love. Meeting heroes can be daunting, the risk of expectation meeting indifference. But the Datsun 240Z didn't have to try to impress me, being kind and friendly from the jump and allowing me to learn how it liked to be driven in real time. Save for some initial human guidance on getting it started, I took my adventure in the Z alone, stopping only to admire it (and take pictures) in its adopted Southern habitat. I'll admit that I initially hesitated to shut off the engine every time I paused, fearing its start-up procedure would be crotchety and temperamental as older cars often are. But I shouldn't have doubted the Datsun: It came right back to life each time. You Might Also Like You Need a Torque Wrench in Your Toolbox Tested: Best Car Interior Cleaners The Man Who Signs Every Car
