PredictionZ: Nissan Could Be Working on a New Z

Taking all of this with a huge grain of salt, as future plans at many manufacturers are often more fluid than the salty Atlantic Ocean, reports are surfacing of Nissan forging ahead with a new Z. And it’s not a crossover.

According to the UK outlet Autocar, Nissan will display a concept Z at this year’s Tokyo show in October*, with a production version showing up a year later in L.A.

Citing knowledge from “insiders,” the new car is slated to appear in coupe and convertible form, packing a version of the twin-turbo 3.0-liter V6 found in the Q60. It may be called the 400Z, which up until now I thought was a unit of measure for frosty beer mugs.

Thanks to Johan de Nysschen’s penchant for the letter Q, I had to go and reconfirm the Q60’s stature in the Infiniti hierarchy. Possessing this engine between its fenders, the 3.0t Sport trim makes 300 horsepower from the 24-valve six-pot while the Red Sport 400 cranks the wick up to, well, 400 hp. Explains the numerical addendum to its nomenclature, then. It also explains the potential 400Z nameplate. Torque is 295 lb-ft and 350 lb-ft on the two versions, respectively.

The more powerful Red Sport is also available with power shunted to all four wheels, a $2,000 premium. Rear-drive versions of the car have a staggered tire size, 20-inchers measuring 255/35 in the front and 275/30 in the rear. They are thin veneers of black paint around aluminium alloy wheels, then.

Infiniti bills the suspension on all three of these Q60 variants as a “dynamic digital” setup, with electronically controlled shock absorbers provide high damping force at low frequency vibrations and low damping force at high frequency vibrations. The latter is purported to smooth out the ride with the other is intended to keep things flat when exploring the envelope’s edge.

For comparison purposes, the Q60 is 184.4 inches long, 72.8 inches wide, and stands 54.5 inches tall. Today’s Z checks in at 167.5, 72.6, and 51.8 inches for the same measurements. If these predictions hold true, we’ll be looking at a much larger Z car. Wheelbase is eight inches more as well.

Sales of the existing 370Z have hovered around 7,000 units annually since calendar year 2011 except for last year when only 4,614 of the machines departed dealer lots. With the current Zed long overdue for a refresh, these rumours do have a certain believability to them.

*Another grain of salt arises from the fact the bi-annual Tokyo Auto Show isn’t held until October 2019.

[Image: Nissan]