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Launched in 1969, the Fairlady Z was the car that put Nissan (then Datsun) and Japan in the first division of the automotive manufacturers’ league. The Z paved the way for a new breed of cars to succeed outside of Japan; a development which would fundamentally change the world’s auto industry.

This book looks in detail at all of the Datsun sports cars that proudly carried the Fairlady name — the SP/SR roadsters, the 240Z, 260Z and 280Z, and the Si 30 series, commonly known as the 280ZX in export markets.

In this volume is a great deal of new information for enthusiasts in the west as Japanese models are covered in detail, along with those sold in Europe and America. It also puts straight, once and for all, the convoluted story of the Z, as there have been so many conflicting reports on what happened and when. Photographs and other illustrations have been sourced almost exclusively from the factory, so dedicated Datsun owners searching for originality are well catered for.

For many years, the Datsun Z was credited as the most successful sports car of all time, gaining fans the world over, and laying claim to a number of important successes in competition, both on the race track and in rallying: here is the Z-car story ...

Brian Long now has almost forty automotive books to his credit. Coming from an engineering background, he has been a car enthusiast for as long as anyone can remember. Today, his passion for sports cars and vintage machinery remains as strong as ever. Born in Coventry, England, Brian now lives in Chiba City, Japan, with his wife, Miho, and their two children, Louis and Sophie-Mercedes. Brian is a member of the RJC in Japan, the Guild of Motoring Writers, and the Society of Automotive Historians.