Rare 1972 Nissan Fairlady 240ZG Headed to Auction in the US

Like so many other great cars, the 240ZG was born out of a desire to win races. Nissan, looking to create a highly competitive Group 4 racecar, got its aero engineers to design an optimized front end for the 240Z. They put together a pointy new nose for the sports car, which was seven inches longer than the stock 240Z’s, and also applied new headlight covers, widened fender flares and a small rear spoiler. Group 4 rules forced these changes to be homologated for at least 500 production vehicles, which resulted in the creation of the road-going 240ZG.

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Nissan ended up winning its class in the 1972 Fuji Grand Champion Series with the 240ZG, making the car rather famous among race fans and car enthusiasts in its home country. The racing special was only ever sold in Japan, but this example was imported to the US by a well-known Japanese car importer back in 2013 and will soon go under the gavel at RM Sotheby’s Monterey auction in August.

RM says this example was delivered new in Tokyo. It recently went through a thorough restoration that included new paint in the original Grand Prix Maroon shade. The car retains its original black vinyl interior upholstery and period Nissan AM radio and also has period-style aftermarket Watanabe wheels and an aftermarket rear strut brace. Apart from those tasteful modifications, though, this rarely seen Fairlady variant appears almost exactly as it did in Tokyo in 1972.

With only a handful ever imported into the US, this 240ZG is likely to attract a considerable amount of interest when it crosses the auction block in August. You can view the lot listing at this link for additional information and photos before it finds a new home later this summer.

Photos by Erik Fuller ©2018 Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

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