Quote:
Originally Posted by
Tokyo Slim 
Sorry I forgot all about the 2000GT (on of my favorite Japanese cars). The E-type came first, then the 2000GTs mission was to copy the E-type, but make it better (as you can see from the design). The Z was a cheap version of the 2 more expensive cars (E-type and 2000GT)
Here`s a good overview on how it all happened;
http://www.motortrend.com/classic/c1...son/index.html
Like you said, the Nissan Z and Toyota 2000GT designs are much related, because they were working together in the beginning. The E-type debuted in 1961, well before the other 2 so the original honors has to go to the E-type. All of the documentaries I have seen of the 2000GT and Z mention that the designs were copied from the E-type too.