Check Out The Nissan Z-Proto's 300ZX-Like Rear

Earlier this week, Nissan confirmed that its ‘Z-Proto’ concept will be revealed on 16 September. This gives the Japanese company precious little time to squeeze in teasers for its 370Z successor, but senior vice president of design Alfonso Albaisa is more than happy to lend a hand, it seems.

On his Instagram account, Albaisa posted a love letter to the Nissan Z car, alongside a design sketch showing the rear end of the latest one. There’s some clear 300ZX influence going on there - just look at those bars that make up the rear light clusters.

We’ve already had a reasonable look at the rear via a teaser video put out by Nissan a few months ago, showing that the silhouette will be closer to that of the 350Z and 370Z. There are also shades of the Datsun 240Z, and what might well be some front light clusters inspired by the original Z car.

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As you’ll be used to hearing by now, we’re expecting Nissan’s VR30DDTT 3.0-litre twin-turbo V6 to power the car, with an output of around 400bhp. Unlike previous Z cars, the name will likely be based on the output of the car rather than the engine’s displacement, giving it the moniker ‘400Z’.

Speculation surrounding the next Z car - originally rumoured to be a crossover - has been mounting. A 370Z-bodied test mule was spotted at the Nurburgring last year, and more recently, it emerged that Nissan had trademarked a new Z logo.

Although the car we’ll see on the 16th (or the 15th, depending on where you are in the world) is definitely not a production car, it doesn’t look like it’ll be a million miles away from being showroom ready. The one you’ll actually be able to buy may just sneak its reveal in before the end of the year, but if not, we’ll almost certainly see it at some point in 2021.