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.
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In fact, it was the 240Z that Nissan entered for the 1971 and 1973 East African Rally, winning on both occasions. It may be a low-slung sports car, but the fact that it survived and won the rallies it had entered is a testament to its toughness.
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. That said, it’s not exactly like that car as the ’71 winner kept its battle-scarred exterior, complete with a mangled front fender. Still, the livery on the modern interpretation looks pretty awesome in our eyes.
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 (51mm). 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.
Interestingly, the interior isn’t totally stripped out. However, it does come with an all-important roll cage, along with lightweight Recaro Pole Position bucket seats and a pace notes holder stuck to the dashboard. We’re also delighted to see that the car used for this build packs a manual transmission.
Other changes to the body? Like the ’71 car, the modernized SEMA version gets several driving lights on the hood and by the windshield pillars. The hood is actually a prototype by Tommy Pike Customs, and it’s made from lightweight aluminum. To protect the car’s undercarriage from stones, it’s been fitted with a steel front bumper guard and a skid plate.
Don’t think for a minute that the engine was left untouched. Nissan and Tommy Pike went all out on this build, powertrain included. Its 3.0-liter twin-turbo V6 was tuned by AMS Performance, so we’re pretty sure it packs more than 400 horsepower and heaps more torque now. The other goodies came from NISMO, namely a track cat-back exhaust system, a twin-disc clutch and flywheel, a cold air intake kit, heat exchanger, and a carbon fiber engine cover.
Sadly, it doesn't seem like this car will ever see rally stages as Nissan didn't mention any competition plans for the car. It's a shame if that's the case, as we think it'll look good going sideways around a forest rally.
