The Z car lineage was first kicked off in 1969 by the iconic 240Z, one of the first genuinely affordable sportscars in the world. No timeframe for the new car has been revealed. “So, you can expect that we will come up with something on this sometime soon.” “And we are actively looking at working at that now,” he said at the time.
“Of course, these two cars are at the heart of Nissan,” he said. “They’re going back to the roots of the car,” a source said.Ĭonfirmation of a new Z car was first made in October last year by Nissan Motor Company head of product planning Ivan Espinosa at the Tokyo motor show where he also confirmed plans for a new GT-R supercar. On this ruling – if the new car does sport the aforementioned 3.0-litre – then the new Z should in theory be dubbed the 300Z or even 300ZX, although the common consensus is the new car will be dubbed the 400Z as a reflection of its horsepower figure (298kW/400hp) and it being the next step in Z car lineage.Īccording to American outlet Autoblog, designers have been looking to the past for inspiration with the new model reportedly set to brandish a 240Z style front end, Z32 300ZX inspired tail-lights and a 370Z-esque silhouette. The following 280ZX sported a 2.8-litre straight six, both generations of the 300ZX boasted 3.0-litre V6s, the 350Z brandished a 3.5-litre V6 and the now decade-old 370Z is motivated by a 3.7-litre unit. Traditionally Z cars have been named in accordance with their engine size – the original 240Z was powered by a 2.4-litre straight six which was then enlarged to 2.6-litres for the 260Z. This theory holds water in more ways than one, with almost classic Z car displacement and cylinder count, Toyota Supra-rivalling power and torque with the added bonus that Infiniti is a subsidiary of Nissan, meaning the engine has already been developed and engineered in-house. In terms of a powertrain, the most popular theory is that the new Z will be powered by the same twin-turbocharged 3.0-litre V6 petrol engine as the Infiniti Q50 sedan and Q60 coupe, which in its most potent guise produces 298kW of power and 475Nm of torque. This lack of any concrete information has led to the rumour mill going into overdrive in recent weeks with almost countless speculations revolving around the new car’s powertrain, name and styling arising, though a few key theories stand out from the rest and a few other possibilities can be drawn from the refreshed Z logo. “Unfortunately we cannot comment on future product or product plans,” a spokesperson told GoAuto. Official details on the new Z are almost non-existent at this point in time, with Nissan Australia refusing to give anything away about the looming sportscar, even declining to comment on the refreshed Z logo.
The new – and therefore classic logo – replaces the 350Z and 370Z’s blocky, straight-edged font style with a more classic flared style, with arguably the biggest change being the return of the oblique centre dash running through the middle of the letter. Officially filed on March 6, the new logo is almost identical to the original Z badging that adorned the legendary Datsun 240Z way back in 1969, a clear homage to its 51-year-old forefather. NISSAN’S latest Z car has taken the next – admittedly small – step towards production with the Japanese brand filing a patent application for an updated Z logo with IP Australia this month.