A few months ago the automotive world produced enough tears to re-hydrate the worlds supply of instant noodles when word came out that Katayama Yutaka the father of the Z had passed away. It was indeed a sad day but I think many were so caught up in the headlines that they got the impression that he designed our beloved fairlady. Truth is he was the conceptual artest and driving force for the Z creation.
Nissan will insist that the Z was designed by a team of their designers but some say the true designer was an American immigrant named Albrecht von Goertz. Sadly a few off handed remarks about the 280ZX have erased a lot of connection to him and the Z.
Albrecht did spend a good portion of his design career working in Japan at Nissan and was employed with them at the time of the Z. There are even photos of what is clearly a Z-ish car he designed. His erasing at Nissan took place a decade later when Road and Track contacted him to get his feelings on the reworked skin of the 1978 Z.
Albrecht said some unflattering remarks and something along the lines of it being a rehash that just doesn’t have it. This apparently prompted Nissan to became so offended that they denied any of his involvement in the design of the original Z-car and seriously down-played his all of his former work there. No one will ever know the truth now. Many call Albrecht a liar... One thing I know he didn’t lie about is that the 280zx does look like a poor rehash... And that is coming from a someone that would sell his organs to own one.
There is a lot of unexplained with the Z so its history fits her. Just ask what the Z stands for and you’ll find yourself scratching your head and wondering if it really means zenith or nothing at all. Tomica did one of the best castings of the 280zx and I love them for it.