The Future Of The Glorious Nissan Z-Car As We Know It Is In Doubt
If you’re holding out for a new Nissan Z-car, and as big fans of the 370Z we definitely are, you might be disappointed at the latest news to come out of the company.
Nissan’s chief planning officer, Philipe Klein, has revealed – with some remorse, it seems – that although there’s a desire for a new Z-model, corporate pressures have pushed the project way down the priorities list.
And there’s worse news. Mr Klein told Australian website CarAdvice:
“There is a lot of passion behind this vehicle… at the same time it’s a segment that is gradually declining, making the case more difficult.
“We have no intention to quit excitement, but we’re going to make it happen in different ways.”
Different ways? We don’t necessarily like the sound of that, but there’s no specific reason why Nissan couldn’t pull a totally new gem out of the bag with hybrid tech. CarAdvice quotes the company’s Hideyuki Sakamoto, the executive vice president of product engineering, as saying:
“GT-R and Z cars are our symbol, so we want to launch a new vehicle. We are now studying utilisation of e-power to create more aggression.”
Source: CarAdvice
Comments
Sooooooooo, a new 390E?
Get rid of the juke please and offer a 4cyl and n/a v6 model for a new Z. The Z has been tried and true for a long time and it seems like only Nissan likes the juke. IMO it’s just like the Kia Soul in the sense that it is marked to teenagers that don’t like it.
Juke=more money. Makes sense for them to keep producing cars that are bought by general public.
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The Z hasn’t aged gracefully, it still looks up to date but the platform it’s on is too old to keep up with the new competition. The BRZ and Miata are both miles ahead of it, and even the Mustang now has a more refined platform. The 370Z is now on life support, being kept alive by the die-hard Nissan fans and modders due to the extensive aftermarket support that comes along with a long production life. It was a great car, but it’s had its run, and now it’s time to move on to something new. Make a new Z, or bring up a new S-chassis, it doesn’t matter, but the 370 needs to be laid to rest before it becomes notorious as alazily facelifted dinosaur, milking the last of its former glory. I rarely ever see 370’s on the road anymore, and I know Nissan can do better. They can work out a new option, people are fervent with calls for more power from the BRZ, I’m sure a turbocharged Silvia-like car would receive a warm welcome from the community and consumers alike. Everything I said about the Z applies to the R35, they’re trying to brute force their way through with an outdated chassis, making up for its downfalls with more sophisticated computers and a more powerful engine. On paper it works, the car is fast, but power is expensive, and it shows in the car’s $30,000 hike since its introduction. If they were willing to redesign the car with new technology in mind, new materials and a new construction, they could go back to the initial point that made it a legend: The Supercar Killer. Do you know how cool that sounds? Because it’s cooler than just “Supercar”. And at this point it’s bordering on just being a plain old supercar, albeit with extra baggage. The difference between supercar killer and supercar is like the difference between Dracula and Van Hellsing. Sure, vampires are cool and powerful but we all fall in love with the bad@ss who can kill them with a crossbow and the sheer power of his titanium gonads. Make the GTR Van Helsing again, don’t let it become Dracula.
Hve a leaf nismo!
No… then have a quashcia Nismo. N…No…
I’l leave…
#ifindoubtflatout
2020:
Make sure its not an SUV, and make sure its ICE only. Don’t betray car enthusiasts like Mitsushiti
Knowing how each Z body style only lasts for 2 generations it sounds like they can’t come up with a new car design.
I sincerely hope they won’t use a hybrid system because that would fully ruin it
Well, forget that Silvia S16, then…
Well, at some point I genuinely believed they’ll build one based on the B17 Sentra because the S13 Chassis shared some parts and It’s SR20 with the 200SX B13-B14 Sentra, but even if they do it’ll be a crappy hybrid.