This modified 1973 Datsun 240Z stole the show at this year’s SEMA event and at the Gran Turismo Awards.

Wearing a Tra-Kyoto Pandem Rocket Bunny body kit – with Kei Miura’s usual JDM-touch and style cues – the “Fugu Z” is enhanced with an extremely-rare, hand-built, naturally-aspirated RB26DE powerplant.

It was Sung Kang’s dream to purchase and customize an iconic 240Z, and the car was built with the help of Greddy, Tra-Kyoto, and HiTech, making it the collective effort of some of the brightest minds in the business.

After sitting in a garage for more than 15 years, the Datsun was stripped down to the frame and fitted with reinforcements, a minimal, race-inspired interior, a high-end suspension system, and, of course, that RB26 engine.

The result is an award winning automobile, which grabbed the “Best Import” accolade at SEMA and was selected by Kazunori Yamauchi as the “Best in Show” at the annual Gran Turismo Awards. So, the car came a long way since it first started as an idea brainstormed by Kang and his friends, as the actor puts it:

“The Fugu Z started off as an idea between a few friends and myself to stoke our passion for cars. Thanks to Kenji Sumino, the Greddy team, and other partners, not only did that idea come to fruition, the response to our Z build at the SEMA show was overwhelming. And now with our Fugu Z winning the Best in Show for the Gran Turismo Awards, I’m honored that we’ll be able to share the car with the rest of the world as a playable vehicle in the game.”

And yes, the 1973 Datsun 240Z will be included in a future edition of Gran Turismo, as a prize for winning the GT Awards. Anyway, if you want to watch how the car came to be, we prepped – among other things – the fourth chapter of the car’s building saga down below.

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