‘’The Gold Standard in Sports Car Luxury’’

The car and the company have an interesting history. The Datsun name is owned by Nissan but there actually was a company called Dat Motorcar Company who built a car called the Dat. When they decided to make a smaller car, it was called a Datson  (son of Dat). When Nissan took over Dat Motorcar Company, the name was changed to Datsun because “son” means “loss” in Japanese plus it also showed some nationalism by including “sun” in the name which is featured in Japan’s flag.

The Datsun 240Z was a game changer when it debuted in late 1969. The 280Z was essentially a 240Z with big impact bumpers and fuel injection. Datsun needed something newer and flashier. Enter the Datsun 280ZX in 1978.

The 280ZX was a complete redesign, retaining only the L28 inline-6 engine and other driveline components from the 280Z. Both two-seater and four-seater (2+2) designs were offered. The 280ZX's body was redesigned with aerodynamics in mind and other improvements taken from wind-tunnel testing, the new design had a lower centre-of-gravity and a 50/50 weight distribution in both the two-seater and 2+2 designs.

The 280ZX was branded in the North American and Australian markets as the "Datsun 280ZX"; and in the local Japanese market as the "Fairlady Z"

A turbocharged model was introduced to the US market in 1981.However all the other export markets (Europe and Australia) continued to receive the normally aspirated 2.8 L engine with manual or automatic transmission.

The 280ZX proved extremely successful in various classes of racing, particularly in the US. The most notable driver to be associated with the car was actor Paul Newman, who raced with the Bob Sharp Racing team. He also helped to promote the car and starred in a series of commercials.

It also appeared in the 1979 movie "Death Car on the Freeway".