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Datsun 240Z "Salt Lake Special" Is All Kinds of Streamlined

The Datsun 240Z is known for all kinds of things, including being an icon of Japanese design. But nobody has looked at one and said: "This is a car I want to set a world speed record in."
Datsun 240Z "Salt Lake Special" Is All Kinds of Streamlined 3 photos
Photo: mick_em_all/Instagram
Datsun 240Z "Salt Lake Special" Is All Kinds of StreamlinedDatsun 240Z "Salt Lake Special" Is All Kinds of Streamlined
Obviously, this is a rendering, a really good 3D one where somebody not only thought about changing up the bodywork but also added textures. Salt is known for being unkind to metal, and this 240Z looks like it's come back from a battlefield as a result.

Artist mick_em_all must have had a lot of sources of inspiration for this project. The paint scheme is vaguely reminiscent of what the Chevrolet So-Cal team used over the years. The Japanese sports car also has a new nose and a teardrop-shaped element added to the rear, similar to some Daytona record-setters. But we're not experts in this form of motorsport; maybe somebody knows the exact car this tries to copy.

For extra streamlining, the 240Z also rocks metal covers for the headlights and some wheel spats at the back. Between the side exhausts and the hood scoop, it's pretty safe to say that no Nissan has ever pulled off this kind of look.

Since we're talking Bonneville here, upgrading the engine to an LS seems like a natural thing to do. But speed records are set according to specific classes, so getting rid of the Nissan engine would actually be detrimental. The Z would stand a better chance with a small displacement.

Far from being just a little looker, the 240Z won a bunch of races when it was new. The SOHC setup and manual gearbox also proved to be a huge advantage, as the EPA was beginning to crack down on guzzlers. So just as Mustangs and Camaros became less cool, Japan began to take over.

 
 
 
 
 
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It’s crazy to think that almost a thousand of you guys want to see stuff that I post. It’s even crazier that I decided to post more regularily at the beginning of this year. I just want to say thank you for sticking around and here’s to hopefully many more milestones along the way! In the meantime I hope you’ll enjoy this Boneville Salt Flat Special Datsun 240Z with oh so appropriate race number 999. Cheers! . . #3dart #3dmodeling #3drender #blender3d #carrendering #automotiveart #datsun #datsun240z #fairladyz #nissan #240z #jdmcars #jdmsociety #bonneville #bonnevillesaltflats #bonnevillespeedweek #landspeedracing #dragracing #1320video #roadkill #motortrend #hotrod #hotrodmagazine #ratrod #speedhunters #carporn

A post shared by MikoBaj M (@mick_em_all) on Aug 10, 2020 at 12:24pm PDT

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About the author: Mihnea Radu
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Mihnea's favorite cars have already been built, the so-called modern classics from the '80s and '90s. He also loves local car culture from all over the world, so don't be surprised to see him getting excited about weird Japanese imports, low-rider VWs out of Germany, replicas from Russia or LS swaps down in Florida.
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