The hull was stretched and reinforced, allowing for more powerful engines, larger cargo bays, and more spacious living quarters. It featured the primary escape pod in the primary crew area. The 3-Z was as fast as the YT-1200. It was also as fast at sublight speeds as a stock YT-1300, and featured some moderate improvements over the YT-1300. Such included the central-dorsal mounted sensor dish provided a greater scanning radius, the standard port-starboard mounted laser cannons provided quality all around its firing arcs, the forward-opening cargo bay allowed easy access, and the cockpit featured a more open canopy.
Corellian Engineering Corporation sub-licensed the manufacturing plans of its YT-1200 to Nova-Drive a few months after the licensor halted its production in favor of newer models; CEC had deemed the line too dated for active production. Despite this, Nova-Drive saw an opportunity to upgrade the design to make it competitive with current offerings in the independent spacer market.
CEC was surprised to discover that its cast-off design, revamped and upgraded, was found to be better priced than its current YT offerings by customers.
- Planets of the Galaxy, Volume One
- The Star Wars Planets Collection
- Stock Ships
- Millennium Falcon Owner's Workshop Manual