One of the all-time great sports cars – and for a time, the biggest seller, was the original Datsun 240Z. Built from 1969 to 1973, the 240Z is still highly sought after by collectors today due to its tremendous combination of style and performance.

Datsun’s parent company Nissan steadily developed their sports model over the years, with a continuous series of models. The latest model, the 400Z sticks to the tried and true formula which pleases enthusiast drivers well. It’s front-engined, with a 6-cylinder motor, rear wheel drive and in strictly 2-seater configuration.

To look at, there are styling cues taken from the original Z, but reinterpreted in a modern way rather than clumsily copying the earlier style. The rear is reminiscent of the 300ZX. And it works well – the 400Z I had to review for a week got positive comments everywhere I went.

The engine is a highlight of the 400Z – a 3-litre twin-turbocharged V6, it provides plenty of grunt – 298kW (which equals 400 horsepower). In the relatively light body, this gives ample acceleration, even in the higher gears… of which it has six in the manual gearbox, or 9 in the automatic.

Inside is where the compromises of sports cars are most apparent. It’s just two seats with a small storage space behind. There are shallow central storage spots and the boot doesn’t hold a lot. Pretty much the story of most 2-seater sports cars…

The view out to the rear three quarters is very restricted, which many modern cars of all types suffer from. The answer car makers give is to fit cameras and a screen (which I find frustratingly inadequate for this form-over-function problem). However in the 400Z, the screen is angled out at the bottom, and not set back enough to be shaded – at many times of the day, the sun shines directly onto the screen making it virtually unreadable.

As a sports car the bar is set high for driving expectations and the 400Z doesn’t disappoint. While it’s an easy car to cruise around town in, when the Sports mode button is pressed, it takes on a more aggressive feel and provides very strong performance.

The low-set car handles very nicely, taking curves in its stride – and notably, the ride has finesse, compliance and comfort. The harshness in other cars can be wearing, especially on a long run, so the 400Zs suspension setup works very much in its favour.

In a time when SUVs dominate the catalogues of almost every car maker’s offerings, it is very pleasing that a car like the 400Z is available. Any sports car sells to a niche market, and uptake in Australia is traditionally smaller than many other parts of the world.

Nissan had a launch price for 400Z at $73,300 in manual or automatic form. Its natural competitors are the Toyota Supra ($87,000) and Ford Mustang 5.0 ($65,290), so it fits nicely in that range. As Nissan Australia’s only non SUV or 4WD model, the 400Z has a lot of appeal.

Paul Blank