New Nissan Z unveiled and apparently it’s not just the 400

The original Nissan Z broke cover in 1969 and since then, six generations of the sports car have been built with over 1.8 million units sold worldwide. 

Simply called the Nissan Z, the Japanese marque is introducing the seventh generation of the sports car that is earmarked to go on sale in 2022.  

Powering the new Nissan Z is a 3.0-litre V6 twin-turbo engine with 298 kW of power and 475 Nm of torque sent to the rear wheels. The all-new Nissan Z gets a significant 51 kW and 108 Nm boost compared to the outgoing 370Z. 

The new Z features a 6-speed manual transmission that includes a launch-assist control system. It can also be had with an advanced 9-speed automatic transmission with a launch control system. 

Nissan is not mentioning the performance times but says the new Z is 15% quicker to 100 km/h – around the mid fours then. 

With great power comes great responsibility hence engineers of the Nissan have tuned the chassis, cooling, suspension and steering. The Nissan Z’s front and rear dampers feature a new mono-tube shock absorber design with a larger diameter for better dampening. 

The automatic Nissan Z comes with two drive modes; standard and sport.

The all-new Nissan Z boasts a fresh new design and completely different looks compared to the outgoing 370Z. According to Nissan, the design theme for both the interior and exterior is “tradition with modern technology.”

The exterior features a long bonnet, a lower rear stance similar to how the first-gen Z looks. There are incorporated LED headlights, rear spoiler, front spoiler, rear quarter glass and new 3D signature LED rear lights. 

Exterior colours include three monotone hues and six two-tone exterior hues that include two new colours; Seiran Blue and Ikazuchi Yellow. Both colours can be had with a Super Black roof. 

The interior takes inspiration from the previous generations of the Nissan Z in the form of three analogue pod gauges, an 8” touchscreen audio display as well as climate-control switches. There is a 12.3” customisable digital metre display and a deep-spoke steering wheel. 

The new Nissan Z’s interior is available in three colour options; Graphite, Red and Blue. There is a limited-edition Proto Spec that features yellow accents throughout the cabin as well as stitching on the instrument panel. The exterior features exclusive yellow-coloured brake callipers with the Z logo and bronze-coloured alloys. Only 240 units of the Proto Spec will be built.