Nissan Z: 400hp, $40k, manual

[Kaido]

Dope:

The 2023 Nissan Z Is A 400 Horsepower Twin-Turbo V6 Enthusiast's Dream

We can only pray that this manual transmission coupe will cost under $40,000.

jalopnik.com

Love the vintage Porsche vibe on the rear end, it's like retro-modern:

 

[Kaido]

Dang. I gotta go listen to some retrowave now.

 

[Kaido]

BRZ vibes on the nose:



Well that's a different front profile











Reminds me a bit of the RX-8

 

[RPD]

I had a 350z as my first post college car, is the Z following the 370 or is it based on something new/different?
Edit - Appears they are just dropping the number portion of the model?

 

[Heartbreaker]

I had a 350z as my first post college car, is the Z following the 370 or is it based on something new/different?
Edit - Appears they are just dropping the number portion of the model?

350z,370Z and the New Z are all essentially same car with styling refresh. This one just gets a bigger engine upgrade to go with the styling refresh.

 

[Kaido]

I had a 350z as my first post college car, is the Z following the 370 or is it based on something new/different?
Edit - Appears they are just dropping the number portion of the model?

Sort of:

1. There was the 350Z (i.e. the 2001 FM platform)
2. The 370Z was on the 350Z platform, but updated
3. The new Z is on the 370Z updated platform, but updated again

The 370Z platform got a bit smaller & got increased rigidity over the 350Z. So the new 400Z (or "Z" officially) will get an even more updated version of that. 400hp, twin-turbo V6 with a stick-shift sounds pretty nice!

I love the rear-quarter angle of the design. Curious to see it in-person & test-drive it. Has a pretty sloped roof lol.

 

[RPD]

Got it, it's just a continuation of the series. Just seemed odd to drop the numbers (Unless this is the sport version of the car and there will be some "base" 400Z?).

 

[Kaido]

Got it, it's just a continuation of the series. Just seemed odd to drop the numbers (Unless this is the sport version of the car and there will be some "base" 400Z?).

I wonder if it's just for marketing effect. On paper & from pictures, it looks like they did a really good job updating & modernizing it. 400Z is just another car, but the "Z" sounds pretty cool!

 

[manly]

Other press articles claim this as an all-new model, no?

I don't think this looks better than the iconic 300ZX. Unfortunately these probably won't sell well enough for me to find a nicely depreciated example in 6 years.

The Carlos Ghosn era ended in ruin for Nissan, so it'll be interesting to see if they can recapture their relevance.

 

[bbhaag]

Looks slick can't wait to see one in person.

 

[Kaido]

Other press articles claim this as an all-new model, no?

I don't think this looks better than the iconic 300ZX. Unfortunately these probably won't sell well enough for me to find a nicely depreciated example in 6 years.

The Carlos Ghosn era ended in ruin for Nissan, so it'll be interesting to see if they can recapture their relevance.

This is an all-new model. 7th-generation Z series. It's in the Z family but not a recycled model.

 

[crashtech]

Seems to be a lot of car for the money, which along with the styling cues is also true to the original roots.

 

[Heartbreaker]

Seems to be a lot of car for the money, which along with the styling cues is also true to the original roots.

Seems like a lot of money for the car IMO.

This is essentially the same car as the previous generation which could be had for $30K.

This is a $10K price increase for new engine and a styling refresh.

 

[crashtech]

Seems like a lot of money for the car IMO.

This is essentially the same car as the previous generation which could be had for $30K.

This is a $10K price increase for new engine and a styling refresh.

Oh, I didn't know that. I've been pricing cars only recently, and at today's prices, 40K did not seem out of line to me.

 

[pauldun170]

If I were looking for a toy, this would definitely be added to the list of cars to check out and lived closer to a track.
It's more interesting to me than a Vette.
The unfortunate part is that it would require a visit to a Nissan dealership and become a Nissan driver.
Nissan drivers are predictably horrific on roads around here.

 

[NutBucket]

Got it, it's just a continuation of the series. Just seemed odd to drop the numbers (Unless this is the sport version of the car and there will be some "base" 400Z?).

They say the numbers were dropped because there's no longer a tie-in to engine displacement. 300Z = 3.0L, 350Z = 3.5L, 370Z = 3.7L, etc. Now they're going back to 3L.

 

[Kaido]

They say the numbers were dropped because there's no longer a tie-in to engine displacement. 300Z = 3.0L, 350Z = 3.5L, 370Z = 3.7L, etc. Now they're going back to 3L.

Hah I never put two and two together!

 

[Hail The Brain Slug]

I'm going to have to wait to see how many options/upgrades they offer to decide how "good of a value" the base model is.

They've already mentioned the brakes having an optional upgrade and the infotainment having an optional upgrade, and a mechanical LSD being an optional upgrade. The vehicles they showed appeared to be fully loaded based on the limited information we have, so they were being a bit disingenuous with showing off fully loaded models and proclaiming it was "just 40k".

It will come down to how many things the bean counters downgrade to make it "just 40k".

 

[manly]

This is an all-new model. 7th-generation Z series. It's in the Z family but not a recycled model.

That's what I thought too, but there's at least one dissenting view in this thread.

Hah I never put two and two together!

I assumed it's because we already know this won't sell very well, and there is about 0.3% chance you'll see an 8th gen Z ever. ;P

 

[Hail The Brain Slug]

That's what I thought too, but there's at least one dissenting view in this thread.


I assumed it's because we already know this won't sell very well, and there is about 0.3% chance you'll see an 8th gen Z ever. ;P

The words "The all new Z" imply it's a brand new platform but all the evidence people have collected from measuring and inspecting the prototype, which in their own words was 95% of the production model, seems to show that it's simply an updated/modified 370z chassis.

I would welcome them sharing some actual details about the chassis, if it's an all new design, some skeletonized chassis 3d models/images, etc.

I can't recall an auto manufacturer actually designing and releasing an all new platform where the observable chassis/subframe/design/dimensions were identical to the previous generation.

If the prototype was based on a heavily modified 370z chassis due to being an early prototype, they need to come clean and clarify the new platform is a new design.

 

[maluckey1]

I'd be all over this car if:

-No ABS
-No TPMS (or allow it to be turned off, or removed)
-No power windows
-No power door locks
-No cruise control
-No infotainment/entertainment system or computer/driver interface
-No Power seat controls
-No Sunroof
-No remote start or security alarm system
-MUST have limited slip
-Must have coilovers
-MUST have available "track/off-road only" computer (or tune) as a purchase option for race days.

I don't feel confident that they would have a model like this....but I can dream......

Basically, I'd like a simple, well-sorted sports car. There really aren't any affordable ones other than the Mazda MX5, and that's 38000 if you pick the go-fast parts and ignore "style" parts, or the Toyota 86 GT at 32000. Neither is going to be very fast at the track compared to the Nissan Z.

It looks like Nissan is trying hard to not go against the Toyota Supra, and if they can do that, they have a unique niche going on.

 

[Hail The Brain Slug]

I'd be all over this car if:

-No ABS
-No TPMS (or allow it to be turned off, or removed)
-No power windows
-No power door locks
-No cruise control
-No infotainment/entertainment system or computer/driver interface
-No Power seat controls
-No Sunroof
-No remote start or security alarm system
-MUST have limited slip
-Must have coilovers
-MUST have available "track/off-road only" computer (or tune) as a purchase option for race days.

I don't feel confident that they would have a model like this....but I can dream......

Basically, I'd like a simple, well-sorted sports car. There really aren't any affordable ones other than the Mazda MX5, and that's 38000 if you pick the go-fast parts and ignore "style" parts, or the Toyota 86 GT at 32000. Neither is going to be very fast at the track compared to the Nissan Z.

It looks like Nissan is trying hard to not go against the Toyota Supra, and if they can do that, they have a unique niche going on.

You're literally in dreamland, they are not legally allowed to sell a car to be used on public roads without ABS and TPMS (And I would be surprised if defeatable TPMS is allowed).

Nissan described it as a grand tourer in the announcement. If they stripped it of all the rest of the things you stipulated it clearly wouldn't be that.

The market for this kind of car is already so small it's difficult to attract major automakers, the market for what you describe is so infinitesimally small it will never happen. At best you might find an AC deleted, extra adjustable suspension version with a few things like sound deadening removed to save weight. (if the stock suspension does not allow all alignment adjustments already). It's still gonna have TPMS/ABS/Power everything/cruise control/etc.

 

[maluckey1]

You're literally in dreamland, they are not legally allowed to sell a car to be used on public roads without ABS and TPMS (And I would be surprised if defeatable TPMS is allowed).

Nissan described it as a grand tourer in the announcement. If they stripped it of all the rest of the things you stipulated it clearly wouldn't be that.

The market for this kind of car is already so small it's difficult to attract major automakers, the market for what you describe is so infinitesimally small it will never happen. At best you might find an AC deleted, extra adjustable suspension version with a few things like sound deadening removed to save weight. (if the stock suspension does not allow all alignment adjustments already). It's still gonna have TPMS/ABS/Power everything/cruise control/etc.

I did say "IF", and I'm fairly certain it will never happen. That being said...

Many automakers sell parts and computer tunes, straight-pipes and other such non street-legal parts with "not street legal" stipulations. Not the same, but I'd still go for that. Some trucks can disable airbags "for off-road use".

I do agree, that it wouldn't be a grand tourer at this point though. What's sad is that I can't think of a single new car that I'd actually want (other than a few kit cars) as a sports car.

 

[Hail The Brain Slug]

I did say "IF", and I'm fairly certain it will never happen. That being said...

Many automakers sell parts and computer tunes, straight-pipes and other such non street-legal parts with "not street legal" stipulations. Not the same, but I'd still go for that. Some trucks can disable airbags "for off-road use".

I do agree, that it wouldn't be a grand tourer at this point though. What's sad is that I can't think of a single new car that I'd actually want (other than a few kit cars) as a sports car.

I've never heard of disable-able airbags and can't find any source for this in searching, a citation would be appreciated. (Excepting of course the option to manually disable the passenger airbag, intended for children/cargo/etc.)

Also very few big manufacturers offer first party/OEM "not street legal" parts. In addition, none of them sell a car already donning these parts.

If the only way Nissan could interest you in "the new Z" is to sell a not road legal, totally stripped down version you have to trailer everywhere, well.... No other big manufacturer will ever do that, either.

Your desires are a fantasy only a kit car or buying a road legal car and stripping it down yourself will achieve.

Judging the new Z by your standards, along with literally any other new car will result in failure. You've set your standards up to be unattainable.

 

[Heartbreaker]

I'd be all over this car if:

-No ABS
....

Translation: "I would never buy this car, but I'll pretend I would, then make a up a bizarre set of impossible conditions why I won't"