Peter Brock: How the 240Z established Nissan in America.To see picture click on code, then right arrow about 8 times.
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Over 50 years ago, Peter Brock turned Datsun’s 240Z into a world-beater. More recently, he helped recreate that original effort.
By Peter Brock
Mar 21, 2024 |
Datsun,
Nissan | Posted in
Features | From the Sept. 2018 issue......If not for a small but highly talented group of racers in Southern California, the Datsun 240Z might not have become such an American success story. While there were political and cultural hurdles to overcome, the Brock Racing Enterprises team was able to grasp the emerging situation at the car’s introduction and help create one of the most dominant production racers ever built.
But this story starts with the man whose vision, corporate power and trust in this small team made it all possible: Yutaka Katayama, the president of Datsun USA and a highly unusual business personality.
Unlike most Japanese automotive executives of that era, Mr. K understood the American psyche–perhaps even better than some Americans in similar positions in Detroit. His radical ideas about automotive design, marketing, and building quality and respect into a struggling, war-ravaged entity were not always well received in the boardroom in Tokyo.
He’d actually been “banished” to California several years earlier by Nissan’s highly conservative management in order to try to establish a sales beachhead in North America. He was awarded this position as much to eliminate his contentious ideas as to test his controversial theories where it was believed that an embarrassing failure might not be blamed on their collective decision.
One Goal, Two CarsKatayama was certain that his success for Nissan in America would require two totally new and different automobiles. First would be a small, inexpensive sedan capable of unseating Volkswagen from its top position in American import sales. This dream would become the 510.
The second new vehicle would be a relatively inexpensive, more exotic-looking GT coupe–something that would appeal not just to performance fans but also to that larger portion of Americans seeking greater style, comfort and cache than any coveted, higher-priced European import could offer.
The triggering moment for that special coupe began on a trip to the home office, where Katayama stopped into Nissan’s design studio and met with Chief Designer Yoshihiko Matsuo. Knowing Katayama’s reputation for action and bold planning, Matsuo quietly revealed a dream concept that had seemed almost impossible to realize thanks to resistance within Nissan’s highly conservative management.
Upon viewing the sketches, Katayama instantly knew that Matsuo’s GT concept was exactly what was needed in the States. Americans would eventually know this car as the 240Z, and Katayama became its dedicated champion within Nissan.
In Japan, few in Nissan’s hierarchy had any understanding of the American market or its impending federal regulations regarding cleaner air. Almost all of Nissan’s engineering, management and sales teams had been trained using European models as templates for success.
Whereas Nissan’s engineers had been focused on producing rather boring, inexpensive copies of obsolete European models that met Japan’s highly restrictive regulations for the domestic market, their recently acquired manufacturing partner, Prince Motor Company, had a uniquely qualified staff that understood high-performance engines and was anxious to prove its expertise.
Prince’s engineers produced a brilliant high-performance twin-cam, 2.0-liter engine for the Z 432, the race-ready version of this new coupe. However, the engine would become a political logjam within Nissan, as Katayama knew it wasn’t suitable or even acceptable for the American market. It would never have met U.S. air quality regulations.
Since this new coupe was his personal project within Nissan and he’d staked his reputation upon its success, Katayama resented management’s desire to send this highly tuned engine into a market it hardly understood. He knew his new coupe would need something with a larger displacement and built at a far lower cost.
The answer was found in the basic layout of the new L-series engines that had been created especially for Katayama’s other vision, the 510 economy sedan. It was a relatively simple engineering task, on paper, to add two cylinders to the engine’s design and enlarge displacement to 2400cc.
The actual upgrade, which was focused on keeping costs as low as possible, overlooked one critical design element. This would not be discovered until the car was in production and the first 240Z engine was modified for racing by the Brock Racing Enterprises team in California.
Sealing a Deal
Even though BRE had not raced under contract for Datsun USA in 1969, the young privateer team from El Segundo, California, still had an excellent season. Winning the Sports Car Club of America’s tough Pacific Coast D Production Championship with a Datsun 2000 roadster and qualifying it for the SCCA’s Nationals in Daytona had actually resulted in a combination of key moves that garnered Peter Brock a private invitation to meet with a very appreciative Mr. Katayama.
Mr. K would further surprise his guest with a secret viewing of the coming season’s secret weapon from Nissan, the 240Z. Even more important was the proffered contract to race a pair of them for him personally under the Datsun USA banner.Racing with factory support for a Japanese manufacturer is far different from running a privateer effort in America. It brings far more responsibility than simply preparing the cars for competition. It means representing the company and its principles at all times in such a way that projects a clean, powerful sporting image that attracts others to the cause and creates internal corporate pride in product. Success on track, obviously, is important for sales, but it has to be done in such a way that winning brings admiration and respect to all involved.