Nissan Fairlady Z33 - Better than a GTR?

One of Car throttle’s videos on the “Awesome Affordable Cars” series summarizes the fact that the Nissan 350Z (Z33) is a solid budget alternative of a Nissan GTR despite being a “scaled-down” version of the latter. If I’m really honest though, I still rather have the Z even if I have the money for a GTR. If you ask most people on the same question, the GTR would probably the more popular answer and it is easy to see why. I started to like the Nissan Z33 from NFS Underground and Wangan Midnight Maximum Tune games, both of which I enjoyed the Z more than an R34, and after more than a decade with multiple new cars (including the GTR R35) came along, I still have the Z33 as my first choice.

The Z33 development started at around the late 90s where the excellent 300ZX (Z32) lacked performance against rivals and withdrawn from international markets, Nissan then decided to re-boot the Z name by designing the modern version of the 240Z which is the name of the original Nissan Z. By 1998, the 240Z concept is reviled, featuring a rather modernized version of the original S30 design, although the result of this design is not welcomed by most Nissan Z fans and even the designer of the original 240Z failed to gain any appreciation, it was considered too retro for a modern Nissan car. The worst part is their original choice of engine for this new model, which is a KA24DE engine from an Altima, it was considered underpowered for sports car standards and it would never be suited for it. After many criticisms, they went back to the drawing board and thinking of a different approach for the new Z. The 2nd concept then came along in 2001 with a much-enhanced design from the previous one, and this design pleased the audience and Nissan themselves. They also used the upgraded VQ35DE that was used on most Nissans at that time, this suit the car perfectly and hence the 3.5 litre engine, the international name for the new Fairlady Z would be the 350Z. The final production model came along in late 2002 and started the next generation of the Nissan Z car.

The Z33 generation of the Fairlady begins its recognition in early 2003 worldwide, and it is available with the normal 2-door coupe and a convertible version for the first time in the Z history. The production version of the 350Z featured the VQ35DE engine that produces 280 BHP which was common for Japanese sports cars at that time due to their regulations and there is no turbocharged option for the first time, though the 3.5 litre engine alone is enough. Despite the criticism of the previous 240Z concept, the designer who was commissioned for the 350Z was keen to have the original S30Z as an inspiration, as a result of this many aspects from the latter is featured for the Z33 such as the long front end/bonnet, rear sloping roof, shape of the windows (front and rear), bulged wheel arches and as for the interior; triple gauge cluster and the 2-seater layout. Otherwise, the rest of the design is all brand new like the vertical aluminum door handles, the shape of the lights inspired from the letter “Z”, and most of the body shape. Later models of the Z33 featured minor changes of the design, improved and added features and gadgets such as a Traction Control, Cruise Control as standard. The engine for the 2007 model year is also upgraded to a VQ35HR that produces around 20 BHP more and more torque as well and the rev limiter is also raised by 300 rpm. The Z33 then went along in production until 2009 where it was replaced by the Z34 370Z.

Despite some changes for the later models, the 350Z remained a driver-focused sports car just like their older generations and the performance of this car is very respectable to most Z fans. It is not as exotic as a GTR but it remained as one of the best Nissans ever made, and that raises the question weather why I liked the Z33 more than any other GTR. The way I see it, GTRs were already in the supercar zone with its ability to go against the likes of Ferraris whereas Nissan Zs were the 718 Cayman of the Nissan world and only in the sports car zone, and if you ask me I rather own a sports car because it is more usable, cheaper to buy/run and still have most of the supercar experience. The other thing is that all Nissan Zs were RWD and available in manual gearbox which is 2 of the most important features for a keen driver, this means that it is much more fun to drive since you get to control the car even more weather if its in real life or even on realistic racing games. In addition to that, the technology of the Z33 remained simple whereas a GTR is already fitted with loads of computers and other advanced technology inside out, the only tech featured on a Z33 is LSD, ABS and Traction Control which is a common feature on most sports cars of today, this means that the Z’s tuning settings is more flexible and had more options, resulting to the driver to have more involvement and choices on car settings and control, making it one of the best bases for a project car. Bottom line, the Z33 is a simple sports car for simple people, which I think it made this car better than a GTR in my view.

It is unfortunate that the Nissan Z is rumored to be replaced by a Nissan Gripz since crossovers were taking over the market, the Z car is a difficult market at this moment thanks to the rise of crossovers and their more popular GTR, yet despite this, it is a big relief that Nissan recently announced their intention on keeping the Z sports car alive. Hopefully it would be here to stay, because I think that Nissan Zs in general is a better “Drivers Car” compared to any GTR, and the 5th generation Z33 is the one I loved the most and the one I would have. Although it is the heaviest in its class and also the heaviest Z, but it doesn’t really matter since it could still has the great performance that could deliver an amazing driving experience and it is the best looking Z, which really sums it up as one of my all-time favorite cars out there…