The birth of 240Z was driven by Yutaka Katayama, the boss of Nissan USA then and now known as “the father of Z-cars”. In 1965, he visited the R&D department in Japan HQ, persuading the chief engineer and designer to develop a stunning sports car instead of continuing making cheap economy cars forever. His words moved them and, having committed to the top management that he could sell 3000 cars a month in America, the project got greenlight with project code “Z”. 4 years later, the production car went on sale. It was called “Fairlady Z” at its home market following the tradition of Nissan sports cars (note: Nissan had been building the unremarkable Fairlady roadster series since 1959). But Mr. K preferred a stronger name for export market and called it 240Z instead, where the number represented its engine displacement.
