Old meets new in this custom Nissan S340Z

This Nissan 370Z gets a retro makeover

The Tokyo Auto Salon has no shortages when it comes to crazy custom builds. So far, there's the 5-door Jimny and the superbike-powered Yaris Jr., both of which were built by college students at respective universities in Japan. But that's not all. Another build that caught our interest at this year's show is this “S340Z”.

From far away, you might mistake it for the first-generation Fairlady Z (S30). But come a bit closer, and it's actually a Z34-generation Fairlady Z with the exterior of the 240Z grafted on. Like the 5-door Jimny and the Yaris Jr., the S340Z was also built by college students, this time from the Nissan Kyoto Automobile College.

Considering how different the lines of the first-generation Z are from the Z34, the students did a great job matching the retro front and rear end with the 370Z's more rounded body. It's not easy work too. The fenders, hood, metal bumpers, and tailgate were replaced by one-off pieces. Possibly the hardest bit would be the rear-end. Somehow, they managed to incorporate the one-piece taillight garnish of the original Fairlady Z and fitted it into the modern 370Z chassis.

As a nod to the original Fairlady Z, the car is painted orange and features a stripe down the side of the body. Meanwhile, a pair of fender mirrors replace the original ones fitted on the Z34. A set of Blitz coilovers and Work Emotion T5R wheels complete the exterior makeover. According to the spec sheet, no changes were made to the naturally aspirated 3.7-liter V6 apart from the one-off muffler.

We dig the S340Z, but what do you think? Did the students do a good job with the retro design? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.