Who says sports cars can’t kick up some dust?
When it comes to rallying, Nissan isn’t exactly the first brand that comes to mind. However, it may surprise some folks that the company has a rich heritage when it comes to the sport. In fact, the company joined rallies as far back as the late-‘50s.
Through the decades, Nissan has rallied Bluebirds, Violets, Pulsars, and even Silvias. For those of a certain age, they might remember the Datsun 240RS, a Silvia that tried its hand in Group B rallying. But there was also a time when the Nissan Z Car took on the challenge…and won.EICMA 2023: The 450MT is CFMoto’s impressive new entry-level ADVIn fact, it was the 240Z that Nissan entered for the 1971 and 1973 East African Rally, winning on both occasions.
It’s been over 50 years since the Z first won those rallies, so to commemorate that achievement, Nissan decided to build a special car for this year’s SEMA Show. It’s called the Nissan Z Safari Rally Tribute, and it’s a fitting homage to the successful race cars from the ‘70s.First things first, this particular Nissan Z pays tribute to the Datsun 240Z rally car that won the 1971 East African Safari Rally.
The Rally Tribute was built by Tommy Pike Customs and fitted with parts one would expect from a rally racer. For starters, it gets KW Safari suspension and NISMO suspension parts that raise the Z's ride height by 2 inches . That package includes an adjustable upper control arms, outer tie rod ends, front & rear end-links, rear mid-links and rear traction arms. As for wheels and tires, it rides on prototype NISMO Safari wheels, shod in Yokohama Geolandar M/T G003 tires.