Z Sports Car
(CNN) – On Tuesday night, Nissan unveiled the Z Proto, offering up an early look at what will be the first new version of its Nissan Z sports car in more than a decade.
The Z Proto, which Nissan calls a 'development study vehicle,' is a 'near-production protoype,' according to the company.
Nissan's Z cars have long had a passionate following and early models have become collectibles. Original 240Zs that are in good condition are worth about $20,000 today, according to collector car appraisers at Hagerty. But an extraordinary 1971 model with only 21,000 miles sold on the auction website Bringatrailer.com last January for $310,000.
The last production version, which is sold as the 370Z in the US, was introduced in 2009. It hasn't been substantially redesigned since then.
A to Z Autosports. 1415 Pflaum Road, Madison, WI 53716. 2005 Mazda Mazda6 s Sport Sedan. Websites for Car Dealers; by; AutoManager. 'The Z, as a pure sports car, represents the spirit of Nissan,' said Nissan CEO Makoto Uchida. 'It's a key model in our Nissan NEXT transformation plan, and it's proof of our ability to do what others don't dare to do, from A to Z. As a Z fan myself, I'm excited to announce that the next Z is coming.'
The Z Proto has a number of design elements drawn from earlier model Z models. The shape of its hood and headlights are reminiscent of the 240Z's classic sports car proportions. The prototype car's pearlescent yellow paint scheme is suggestive of a yellow paint popular on early Zs.
Inside, the Z Proto has a deep-dish steering wheel which is reminiscent of classic performance cars of the late 1960's and early '70's. Also, the Z Proto has a manual transmission, a rare feature today even in sports cars. Under the hood, the Z Proto has a turbocharged V6 engine, although Nissan provided no details about its size or power output.
The taillights are modeled on those of the 1990's 300ZX, a model that had introduced a radically new, more modern flat-sided design to the Z.
- In 1970, the Z caused a commotion by rewriting the rules of sports cars in terms of style, performance, and value. And it's still true today. From its unique two-tone exterior to its Alcantara®-wrapped steering wheel, we proudly present the 2020 50th Anniversary Edition.
- The sports car has echoes of the model's half century of history. The badge looks like the one worn by the 1970s Nissan Fairlady Z. That first-generation sports car, known as the Datsun 240Z in the.
- The Nissan 370Z has been on sale for over a decade, but the brand’s next sports car will resemble something much older than that. (Nissan) The Nissan Z Proto revealed Tuesday night is the.
The original Z car, the 1970 Datsun 240Z, is widely credited with changing Americans' perceptions of Japanese cars. (At the time, Nissan sold cars in the US under the Datsun name.) There had been Japanese sports cars before, including ones from Nissan, but the 240Z was different. It was relatively affordable, unlike Toyota's beautiful but expensive 2000GT, while it offered compelling performance.
'The Z really was a game changer,' said Brian Hsu, editor of the website JapaneseNostalgicCar.com and author of the book 'Classic Japanese Performance Cars.' 'It had the power of larger sports cars but it didn't cost as much as larger, more expensive sports cars like Porsches and whatnot.'
Nissan 350z
A version of the Nissan Fairlady Z coupe, introduced at the same time in Japan, the Datsun 240Z was engineered especially for the US market. Two important changes were made for the American market. First, the American Z got a larger, more powerful engine and the Fairlady name was dropped in favor of a number.
The number would get larger through succeeding generations, including the 280ZX, 300ZX and 370Z. Meanwhile, the Fairlady name has continued in Japan.
Sports Car
Nissan has not yet said when the new Nissan Z model will come to market or how much it will cost. Hsu said he hopes the new version remains true to the Z's original emphasis on affordable performance, with an emphasis on enjoyment over performance statistics.
'The world doesn't need any more supercars,' he said. 'The world is flush with supercars that are insanely fast and insanely expensive. What we're lacking are cars at the bottom end of the market.'
This story was first published on CNN.com, 'Nissan gives us an early glimpse of its first new Z sports car in over a decade.'
Z Sports Car
After years of sitting on the sidelines, Nissan is finally getting around to developing a successor to the 370Z.
The automaker has been spotted with a test mule at the Nürburgring, and even though the body shell is from the current 370Z, we can still gather a few clues about the next generation of the Z sports car line.
The 370Z's front fascia has been modified with extra openings on this test mule, suggesting a new powertrain is being developed. More telling is the overhang in each of the wheel wells, which points to the redesigned Z having a narrower track than the 370Z. Yes, we could be looking at a smaller, more nimble successor.
This makes sense as Nissan toyed with the idea of launching a smaller sports car to sit below the Z and GT-R, and even rolled out the funky IDx concepts in 2013 to gauge interest. Plans for the smaller sports car have been dropped and as a result Nissan will likely slightly downsize the Z.
2022 Nissan Z sports car test mule spy shots - Photo credit: S. Baldauf/SB-Medien
Speaking to Motor Authority in April, Hiroshi Tamura, chief product specialist for the GT-R and Nismo, said the redesigned Z might not be all the much lighter, but it might drive like it is.
In line with this new positioning, expect the redesigned Z to also offer multiple powertrains to entice a wider spectrum of buyers. Here's hoping one of the powertrains is the 400-horsepower, 3.0-liter twin-turbocharged V-6 found in some Infiniti models. A hybrid option may also be a possibility.
Nissan's New Z Car
Nissan had a Toyota Supra on hand for benchmarking purposes, so it's clear what level of performance is being targeted.
Nissan Sports Car Z
We're still at a very early stage of development, so don't expect to see the new Z revealed until 2021, at the earliest. Such a timeline suggests the car will arrive as a 2022 model. We'll remind you that the 370Z has been on sale since 2009. Incidentally, that's also when the GT-R first went on sale...