The first Datsun 240Z to land in Australia (build #4!) up for auction at Burns & Co Auctions December Classic & Collectable Car Auction.
The Datsun 240Z was a highly desirable and revered sports car, and it proved to be a huge success in the Australian market.
Burns & Co are excited to offer for auction in our December Classic & Collectable Car Auction this rare and significant investment quality, matching number 1969 Datsun 240Z which is build number 4!
Factory records indicate that 438 right-hand drive 240Z models were produced at Nissan’s Shati Hiratsuka facility in 1969. However, due to mechanical issues, production was halted, and no 240Zs were made available to the public that year, although nearly 1,000 other RHD Fairlady variants for the Japanese domestic market were released. Datsun management expressed doubts regarding the commercial viability of the 240Z model.
This particular vehicle, production number HS30 00004, arrived in Australia aboard Datsun’s car carrier, Oppama Maru, in April 1970. Although unclear, it is thought that “Number 4” was originally headed for the London Car show until Datsun Australia requested it be offloaded in Perth and brought to Melbourne for use in press releases and market assessment. It successfully passed compliance checks and was first registered in October 1970. It remained with Datsun’s Head Office on Elizabeth Street in Melbourne for approximately two years, serving as a demonstrator and being loaned to select dealership executives and heavily promoted throughout 1970/71 in car magazines and other media promotional activities.
After reading numerous positive reviews, Dr. Harry Corbett and his wife visited Elizabeth Street in Melbourne to view and test drive vehicle number 4, leaving them quite impressed. Ultimately, in 1972, Datsun sold the 240Z number 4 to a medical professional in Geelong. In 1974, Harry recognized the car with its new owner while refueling in Olinda, near their residences. He approached the owner with an offer to buy the vehicle should it ever be available for sale, and was lucky enough to secure it.
During the mid to late 1980s, Harry enlisted Ray Stanley from Bayswater, and together they undertook a meticulous effort to restore number 4 to its original condition as closely as possible. Harry’s son was entrusted with the care of the vehicle, which he regularly showcased at NDSOC car club events. For several years, 240Z number 4 was carefully preserved and displayed before it was moved on.
The current owner was in the market for a new car in the early 2000’s and had a love for the 240z from childhood. A chance trip to the Z shop in Melbourne’s eastern suburbs to enquire if they might know of any ‘Z’s’ on the market led him to an available Z which turned out to be the very rare number 4, a car he has cherished now for 22 years. Two years ago, the current owner was contacted by Nissan Headquarters as they were about to launch a new generation ‘Z’ and were keen to have number 4 as part of the promotion to highlight the roots of their new generation Z’s. It has remained on show at Nissan Headquarters for over two years until recently.
The owner has now decided it is time to pass on this rare and highly collectable piece of global motoring history to a new custodian. While the owner has had a number of offers, from as far away as the USA, to sell number 4 over the years, it is now being offered for sale for the first time in over 20 years. This means that one lucky buyer will have the opportunity to pick it up on the December 8th when it is offered via auction at the Burns & Co Classic & Collectable Car Auction.
The full catalogue for this auction will go live around the 28th of November when pre-bidding on the car will be open ahead of the live auction on December 8th which will take place at the Burns & Co Auction Rooms at 4 market Drive, Bayswater, Victoria.
More information, including videos of this car can be found here. Other stock for our December Classic & Collectable Car Auction can be seen here as it is added.
