I'm curious to see what type of variants are produced assuming that sales justify them. I imagine there will likely be some NISMO model in the future assuming that demand is present for it. I wonder if they will also come out with a roadster model. Being a current roadster owner, I don't think I would necessarily get one if it did become available, but Tamura has said that sporty convertibles in past Zs represent what the Z is all about. After all, there was a time when roadsters were the only track racing cars.

 

Y'mean, like dis? Laff....


I joke but.... my SCCA D-Production racer was this exact model and spec (Datsun Comp full kit with Solex, Solex-2 ("C") cam, aluminum deep sump pan & pickup, etc) some 40 years ago. So ya, Nissan/Datsun has always been serious about amateur racing. The Z was already ten years old when I was on track with it but the history of Datsun racing pre-dates the Z. Heck, Bondurant school used roadsters before Z cars.

 

 

Just posting some ideas I've see online for the purpose of discussion.

 

I was thinking about something similar to the bottom one. Others are meh.

 

A bit of a re think, I guess that the sharp lines at the front work if you think of the sharp front melting back to form curves as it flows to the rear.

 

I think they need to go a bit pointy in the front like the C8.

 

The front end/grille was initially jarring to me, not as jarring as say... the first time I saw the Cybertruck, but still just seemed off, Now the grille has grown on me and I like it. I still think the bumper could be slightly tweaked to have it flow together more but I'm onboard with the rectangle grille design. I really liked the rest of the design right off the bat, big fan of how they did the Z32-style taillights personally.

I'm not surprised that every sign points to this basically being new panels on the existing 370z architecture. These cars aren't huge sellers and they either don't want to or can't invest more in R&D. Last thing I want is another rebadged sports car like the Supra so I suppose we need to just be happy with whatever we get, but based on what we know I at least feel like Nissan is making the most of it. Interior looks like a big upgrade in technology and I like the design even if it does reuse some of the 370z parts, and a 400HP TT V6 would likewise be a huge upgrade. Some quick searching around it looks like it would be cheap and easy to make considerably more power like most any other factory turbo car. I can't say I've stayed completely up to date with Z modifications but modifying the Z33 for additional power was not economical whatsoever.

If Nissan can offer this at a competitive price point, 42-45k base with the 400hp TT V6 to significantly undercut the Supra, I'll be back in a Z. The Infiniti Q50 Red Sport 400 starts at $59K so I'm not sure how realistic that is, but I'm also not buying a Z for 50K+ so the ***** in your court Nissan.

 

A detailed look of the Fairlady Z.

 

Thanks for posting that Japanese broadcast. In particular, I enjoyed seeing more of the interior and some of the details that will likely make it to production. From door handles, vents and window switches, these are details any Z33 or Z34 owner will instantly recognize. While they're small details, they're items already in Nissan's parts bin that can result in healthy cost savings that will reduce in a lower MSRP for the Z35.

 

Nice to see the accents on the front, side and bottom rear are actually carbon fiber. Would definitely prefer if all that piano black on the roof and hatch were carbon as well. The inside on the tail lights need to light up IMO.

 

The sides of the car are "flat as Kansas". This one aspect makes the car look watered down as a sports car. I know this is a personal preference but there it is. I'm old enough to have taken at least a glancing interest in the look of sports cars back to the early 60's when the trend was for the car to have a long nose. Good examples are the Jaguar and the Aston Martin in James Bond movies. If I remember right, the original 240Z was designed as a nod to the early Jaguar because the designer liked the look. Then there's the 300Z rear end. That's all well and fine but there is so much more that can be done with the car's appearance. I think this new offering is down-playing appearance. Maybe it's to keep costs down. Maybe the marketing people think they can breath new life into the car by resurrecting the original. Maybe their creativity has been exhausted. Who knows.

 

I would be very surprised to see the visible carbon fiber accents on the Z proto make it to production, much less the entire roof and hatch also be made of carbon fiber. At the projected price point I can't think of a single car available with visible carbon fiber like that as a standard feature, likely because it's expensive and time consuming to make those parts compared to injection molded plastic that bumpers are usually made from. The cheapest vehicle I can recall with it even as an option would be the Corvette with the carbon fiber bodykit and roof section options, which are very expensive. As cool as it would be, having those parts be carbon fiber on the production 400Z would likely be increasing the the cost $4,000-5,000, which I don't think many would want to pay. I would expect what is currently visible carbon fiber on the Z Proto to either be matching piano black, or potentially an alternate contrast color like the K11 Nismo dark grey or similar. But who knows, I certainly have no inside knowledge on the matter, I just can't see it from a financial perspective.

At least on the Z Proto the rear Nissan emblem between the taillights does light up, per a Motortrend article. Not necessarily my cup of tea but that's how it is currently.

 

I understand that, I have plenty of carbon parts. I think it could be a feature on the Nismo or something like that. At least for the lower stuff.

 

Am I the only one that thinks the rear looks plain on this proto? I see everyone complaining about the front grill but nobody saying jack about the rear. Besides the taillights (which I love), the hatch looks hella plain to me and needs a spoiler, or at least a lip. The z33 hatch at least has a little lip that points upwards. Does the fact that they put the fairlady Z enblem where a spoiler would be mounted mean that it won't even be available as an option??
Roast me if you must, but I needed to get this off my chest 🙃

 

I won't roast, but I mildly agree. There is beauty in simplicity though, one of the reasons I don't like the 370Z as much as the 350Z. Sometimes less is more.

 

Yeah yeah I understand the less is more mentality and all, but seriously, nobody sees that rear a little roundness away from a vw bug??

 

Same as 240Z...

 

Nope, love the rear end. Simplistic and clean. Not everything needs to have big *** spoiler. I realize that's probably hypocritical given I have a NISMO with a big *** spoiler. Still, you get the point...

 

I think a duckbill would look nice on it.