Z Sports Car
The rigid body and sport-tuned front and rear suspension add to the performance flair of the Z4. Grab the standard Sport leather steering wheel – or the available M Sport steering wheel – and prepare to take control. Sports cars run the gamut from sleek and sporty to pure muscle power. If you're looking for a classic muscle car with plenty of interior room, the Dodge Challenger offers a spacious cabin for up to five passengers—plus bold engine configurations to suit your need for speed. The Chevrolet Camaro also offers respectable power and a cabin large.
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 had a Toyota Supra on hand for benchmarking purposes, so it's clear what level of performance is being targeted.
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...
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The Nissan370Z 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 prototype for the 370Z’s long-awaited replacement.
(Nissan)
The two-seat coupe harkens back to the style of the 1970 240Z, with a similar profile and retro badges to drive the point home.
(Nissan)
It’s also something of a greatest hits design, with taillights inspired by the 300ZX of the 1990s and a large rectangular grille opening like the 370Z’s.
(Nissan)
As a work in progress, exact specifications aren’t yet being offered, but Nissan said it is powered by a twin-turbocharged V6 and confirmed that a six-speed manual transmission is being developed, even as many other sports cars are only available with automatics. (The production model will have one of them, too, of course.)
It also has a hand brake lever and a relatively straightforward interior design, with three knobs for the climate controls below a touchscreen infotainment system and three analog performance gauges on top of the dash.
(Nissan)
The instrument cluster is all digital and sits behind a deep-dish steering wheel, while there are air vents incorporated into the doors.
Nissan Z Sports Car
(Nissan)
Z Sports Cars
An on-sale date and price target were not announced, but the current 370Z starts at $31,015 while the recently rebooted Toyota Supra goes for $51,945 with a turbocharged straight-six.