 |
The Fairlady was Datsun's answer to the British sports cars that dominated the lucrative North American market in the '60s. Its trim lines showed a strong European influence and its similarity to the MGB has to have been more than a coincidence. Even the hood looked the same.
Inside, early versions had a traditional painted metal dashboard, but later this was changed to a padded Federal type that was much less attractive. Launched with a twin-carb, 90 bhp, 1500 cc engine in 1965, the Fairlady improved steadily over the years, bowing out of production in 1970 with a 2.0-litre, twin-cam motor developing 145 bhp, and a five-speed gearbox. A top speed of 125 mph was claimed for these cars, and they did well in American club racing.
Fairlady chassis engineering was rudimentary, with a separate ladder chassis frame and a beam rear axle sprung and located by semi-elliptic leaf springs. Sports-car drivers were coming to expect modern rack and pinion steering but the Fairlady made do with a steering box: handling wasn't one of its strong points.
Datsun sold 40,000 Fairlady convertibles, never coming near the total domination of British marques in that sector of the market. The Fairlady was just a taster of things to come, however: its successor, the 240Z, would become the world's best-selling sports car.
|
