It also throws some shade on the Supra.
The next-generation Nissan Z sport car was a long-awaited project, just like its brother. With the introduction of the Nissan Z Proto this Wednesday, that statement has been made obsolete.
We finally have a glimpse at the future Z car. It is being rumored that it will be called 400Z, at least in prototype form. However, Makoto Uchida, Nissan’s boss, said that the Z Proto was “close to final.” So we are basically looking at the production version.
The question now is: Why did Nissan take so long to make the next Z car? The Nissan 370Z was released in 2008, marking a 12-year gap in Z generation. Although it is not as old as the Nissan GT-R yet, I digress.
According to Hiroshi Tamura (Z, GT-R, and Nismo product expert), it was all about timing and what the market wants. Hiroshi Tamura spoke to the media during Z Proto’s reveal. As reported by Australia’s CarsGuide. The automaker seems to think timing is crucial, and they believe now is the right time.
But if you think that Nissan took those 12 long years to develop an all-new, built-from-the-ground-up Z car, there’s a point of contention based on reports. It will retain the FM architecture, but it will be redesigned. The power plant will also be the 3.0-liter twin-turbo V6 that was used in the Infiniti and Q60.
Also, Nissan is proud of its heritage, and repurposing helps to save the marque significant development costs. Tamura-san stated that the next Z car would be a standalone model unlike its rivals.
Tamura stated that “Our Z is Z and Z is independent.” It was a great way to criticize the Toyota Supra, the Z car’s closest competitor.