The Future Of The Glorious Nissan Z-Car As We Know It Is In Doubt

Nissan executives have shed some light on the future of the Z-car, as the ageing 370Z soldiers on unchanged, and the news is mixed at best

Matt Kimberley

30 Oct 2017

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

First the S-Chassis, then the Skyline and now the Z-Chassis

Skyline still kind of exists, just as an Infiniti.

I see a lot of 370Zs on the road… And I see loads of Toota 86s too… Maybe it’s where I live, but I’m not seeing this decline in demand they’re talking about. People still like mid-sized sportscars.

I think that if Nissan is reconsidering bringing the Datsun 510 as the idx concept I don’t think it should be out of line to say that a possible 300zx revival might be at hand the z line has gone through many body reformations it was even stopped for a bit so I personally want a throwback 1985 z31 revival haha

Please Nissan, make the first stick shift hybrid sports car. The electric motor could compensate for turbo lag or shift times, to give it constant acceleration while still keeping the excitement of a clutch pedal.

Imagine keeping your foot flat on the floor while shifting up and still accelerating during the shift because of an electric motor pushing while the engine RPM’s drop.