| 1 The Z32 was designed in 1984. 2 A paltry 11 designs made the clay model stage. Only 3 designs were made into full-size models. Of the three, the design by Sono (original designer of the Bluebird 910) and Yamashita was chosen, and only very subtle changes in the rear quarter panels and lighting arrangements were made before it went into production. 3 Retractable headlights would have went into the Z32 if the original headlight design failed to meet American regulations. 4 Because of the limits of technology at the time, Nissan's suppliers had problems producing the headlights. 5 Contrary to common belief, the Z32's body was not designed using the Cray supercomputer. The Cray was used in chassis assembly to ensure a rigid body. The Cray was first used to design the multi-link suspension on the MID-4 in 1985, and then later used for the Z32's suspension. 6 A mid-engined Z32 design was considered, but later rejected, as it would have left no option of a 2+2 model. 7 The VQ30 was considered but was found to be too tight for the engine compartment. The VH45 V8 was also considered and rejected. 8 The VG30DETT was first seen in the second MID-4 prototype. 9 Nissan strayed away from the inline-six configuration to the V6 (previous Z's to the Z31 and Z32), not because of packaging situations, but largely because the block can be made stiffer. Due to the shorter length, there was less torque effect to twist both the block and crankshaft. 10 The Z32 was unveiled to the public in the Chicago Auto Show in February 1989. Honda's NSX, however, stole the show. 11 Nissan's launch of the Z32 in 1990 prompted Toyota to go back to the drawing boards for its new Supra. The Supra would later release as a 1993 1/2 model. (Coincidentally, January 1990 marked the 50 millionth car produced for Nissan.) 12 Before taking the Z32 off the American market for 1997, Nissan considered moving the model into the Infiniti lineup. 13 There had been no convertible Z's because of Japan's proposed regulations for convertibles. Because the ban was never approved, Nissan produced the 1992 Convertible (debuted in Japan on August 20, 1992). Parts for the conversion were shipped from the American Sunroof Company (ASC) of California. 14 ASC built a convertible 400bhp twin-turbocharged Z32, for use as a PPG Pace Car for the 1989 CART Indycar races.
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