Oof: MZR Datsun 240Z Evolution for sale
Carbon-bodied, 360hp 240Z has us questioning if we really need two kidneys...
Everyone has their own personal tolerance when it comes to restomodding. More often than not, it’s simply a matter of taste (assuming, of course, you’ve not been trying to buy a usable Porsche 964 this decade). If the car in question looks and sounds right - i.e. in a manner that seems highly sympathetic to the original - then generally the modernisation passes muster. Consider the early Singer commissions and the Eagle F-Type and whatever Alfaholics happens to be working on this month. You wouldn’t think it’s hard to get right, but it is.
We can add MZR Roadsports to this list. Probably you’ve heard of the Datsun 240Z specialist, based in Bradford - we’ve certainly sung their praises in the past. Like most firms dedicated to restomodding, their approach is tiered depending on what you want from your car. But the Evolution is their pièce de résistance because it goes what might be called the whole hog. This means eschewing the familiar bare metal rebuild in favour of a ‘carbon composite exoskeleton’. Which is very cool, very light - and very expensive.
Crucially, the result still reads as 240Z first and science project second. Which is doubly important when you’re dealing with not just one of the coolest looking cars of the ‘70s, but of any time period, period. Nissan’s fledgling Z series was absolutely about delivering a glamorous halo to compete with European rivals (its influences are not hard to fathom), and remarkably, it nailed the basic shape at its first attempt. Moreover, the underlying combination of rear-wheel drive, independent suspension and straight-six engine - all of it at an affordable price point - made it an immediate hit.
MZR does not change that basic formula, though clearly it does liberally tinker with it. Nowhere more so than in the engine bay, where instead of the original L-series straight-six, the Evolution gets a naturally aspirated RB30 bored and stroked to 3.4 litres, breathing through Jenvey throttle bodies and developing around 360hp. This is less about outright power, though, than it is crisp response and redline beyond 7,000rpm. Oh and the noise, obviously. Which we’ll assume is heavenly.
That would certainly match the interior. Perhaps the modifications here do veer away from the ‘light touch’ approach (those HVAC controls are not from the ‘70s), but the basis architecture is all present and correct - imposing worry dials included - and this one retains its wind-up windows. Most importantly, with its tan leather-clad carbon buckets, it looks astonishingly good and the vendor promises you sit low in it, with the kind of dinky pedal box that encourages heel and toeing.
We’d imagine the Evolution encourages you to do all sorts of things, though first you’ll need to hurdle the £170k asking price. In this regard, the car is aided by the colossal valuations that have become commonplace among the alternatives: low six-figures appears positively bargain-like when seven figures is the norm elsewhere. Still, it’s a mighty investment for a sports car that was originally defined by its accessibility. Nevertheless, this example has only completed 2,009 miles since its rebuild, which reportedly took three years. And according to the selling dealer, there are only 15 like it. Convinced?
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