Nissan has delayed its planned successor to the 370Z , citing the now-familiar “unforeseen supply chain issues.” Originally planned for a spring launch, the next Fairlady Z won’t be having her coming-out-party until this summer.
The news came via Car and Driver after the company told the Japanese market it would be forced to postpone the coupe’s launch. Despite the automaker’s U.S. website still listing the model as arriving in the spring of 2022, Nissan confirmed that the Z would be similarly delayed for North America.
Ed. note: The media drives are either already beginning or taking place over the next week, and your humble M.E. has been assigned a test vehicle for next month, so at least some vehicles have been built.
Considering we’ve already waited over a decade, another few months probably won’t kill anybody. It may even continue building hype for a model that’s already created a strong buzz among enthusiasts. The Z’s twin-turbocharged, 3.0-liter V6 is something everyone is eager to see flexed against the Toyota Supra. Nissan has also promised that it’s hoping to deliver a performance vehicle that’s focused on the fundamentals while creating an engaging driving experience.
Pricing has not yet been announced but everyone is anticipating the model retailing near $40,000 with Nissan likely trying to undercut the Supra. However, Toyota’s performance coupe starts at $43,290 and comes with a 255-hp, 2.0-liter turbo with the option to upgrade to a 3.0-liter, inline-six producing 382 hp and 368 foot-pounds of torque. Nissan’s 400-horsepower V6 motor is said to be the default powertrain for the Z, potentially making it a massive bargain if it’s priced against the base Supra.
If that sounds too good to be true, remember that the upcoming model is technically underpinned by a modified version of the platform used for the 370Z — which was in itself a modified version of the 350Z’s architecture. There’s a lot of older hardware going into this baby, allowing the manufacturer to save on development and manufacturing costs. But we’ll have to wait a little longer until Nissan gives us a firm MSRP and all we have to fear are the dealer markups.
[Image: Nissan]
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Those Super Bowl ads were a waste of money.
Most, if not all, are. I can barely remember the ad and it was just 3 months ago.
The best Nissan Ad was “Toys” for the 1996 300ZX
The only Super Bowl ad I remember is the Macintosh “1984” ad.
Goes to show…if you want to make an ad that people remember, hire one of the greatest directors of all time to make it.
Or just make a superb ad:
https://youtu.be/eE9tk7h5Tjk
Super Bowl isn’t the be-all and end-all for great ads…
The Z already has the greatest car and ever.
https://youtu.be/c4HQmuNEZak
This looks like a great sports car. Nice to see Nissan inject some excitement back into their cars.
Let’s add up 2022 for Nissan:
New Pathfinder with a normal automatic transmission that should spread across most of their line.
New Frontier that is getting a bit of good buzz and press, and I just saw one driving around a few days ago and looks good.
The new Z should bring some enthusiasts back to Nissan especially if they keep the price and dealer markups under control.
More new electric vehicles coming out in the next year.
Maybe the lights are starting to flicker back on at Nissan. There’s still a crazy amount of work ahead like what to do with the Maxima (I’m still very much in the camp of trash canning Infiniti and making the next-gen Maxima a RWD and AWD performance sedan to compete with cars like the Acura TLX (and Type-S)) The Titan likely needs to be put out of its misery, but since it underpins the Armada, it’ll probably slog on. I’d like to see them make a new version of the Hardbody – like Ford is doing with the Maverick, make it small and affordable, and style it like how we remember it from way back when. The Sentra and Versa have improved in this generation. Now just give them a better engine/transmission combo and they’ll be a real player. The Altima will be the volume leader. I think its fate has been sealed by the rental car counter/poor credit score/badly maintained image over the past couple of generations. But at least Nissan, like the rest of the Japanese and Korean automakers, has a full lineup to choose from when the swing away from CUVs likely starts with the next generation of cars and buyers. Nissan can fix this…
I hope you are correct it would be great to see Nissan make a comeback. Not too sure that buyers will be swinging away from cuvs anytime soon but stranger things have happened. It would be great if Nissan made a compact pickup.
I just wish it’s retro styling was more in line with the Z32 car. One of the best looking cars ever made IMHO.
I think this is actually objectively true and provable by science. Anyone who finds the 300ZX ugly is probably suffering from a pretty severe mental illness.
Z31 300ZX isn’t bad. Z32 is a generic lozenge, and G.I. Joe is an unfeeling brute.
Signed,
Ken
You could compare a Supra to the new Z right now. Put the Supra next to a Q60RS and have at it.
People seem to think this new Z will be some leap forward with its 2015 Infiniti power train and 2004 platform. I wouldn’t bet on it.
Glad they’re producing it though, and it should be cheaper than the Supra (which is hideous and a BMW).
I have owned many of their cars – most had a Datsun label. This really caught my eye with its slight reference to the 240 through the hood lines and a return to a price objective. However, I am surprised by the specs on weight. What I read said 3600#. I guess its a whole new world for a manufacturer. If they tried to sell a ’71 240Z today it would be panned for noise, a cheap stereo and lack of lumbar support. I guess I should go listen to Jethro Tull – and not “Thick as a Brick”.
Back in 1996 back you could buy a 240Z from Nissan that had been fully reconditioned to a new car. https://jalopnik.com/what-happened-to-all-the-datsun-240zs-nissan-restored-i-1583370936 One of these restored 240Z sold for over 100k. https://www.thedrive.com/news/29086/factory-commissioned-1972-datsun-240z-restoration-sells-for-over-100000-at-auction