Not many sports cars can live up to titles like “road-racing champion” and “rally legend,” but the Safari Rally Z claimed both in its short-lived career. The Nissan Restoration Club recently announced at Nissan 360 that it plans to restore the Safari Rally Z to its original running condition.

The members of the Nissan Restoration Club, founded in 2006, have made it their mission to recognize Nissan cars with notable motorsports history by bringing them back to their original condition. This elite group of volunteer members is passionate about Nissan's heritage in the racing world and is determined to restore the cars so they are fully operational once again.

Some of the more notable past projects the group has taken on have included the “Fuji” and “Sakura” Datsun 210s, winners of Australia's 1958 Mobilgas Trial; the 1964 Skyline race car; and the 1947 Tama electric car. Restoring the cars gives the group the opportunity to take a look at the leading vehicle technologies of the day.

The Safari Rally Z's track record is nothing short of impressive. In 1971 and '73, the Rally Z won two overall championships of the East African Safari Rally with drivers Edgar Hermann and Hans Schuller. Following in the tire tracks of the legendary Bluebird rally car, these two cars helped to put Nissan on the global-rally map.

The Safari Rally Z features a closed, fastback-coupe body and a 2393cc OHC inline-6 engine, tuned up to produce 215 hp. The Rally Z has been a part of Nissan's Heritage Collection and is planned to be fully restored by December 2013.

Nissan

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