well they did announce it !

 

The 400z

I was hoping to have my socks blown off....sadly I wasn't. I don't hate it, but I find it disappointing. It doesn't really look like something that's been the fruits of someone's labour for the last number of years but rather a quick mash up following the morning after a swingers' party when no one's got anything better to do. It is just 'lacking'. Rear end needs flicking up more, that front end looks awkward especially that grille; it just doesn't quite work and it has the feel of nothing more than the re-skin of a 370....and I'd rather have a 370z NISMO at this point (which I quite like). I can see the design elements they've pulled in, but this was Nissan's great chance to do something with far more WOW-factor.

 

On the other side of the fence, I guess it has been designed as a tuner car, so whilst it may look a little bland and a little frumpy in factory spec, it gives the tuning companies something to work with. As a base car, it looks extremely base, but I'm sure with the right wheels and some body enhancements it could look pretty sweet.

 

Not won over though sadly. Looking forward to seeing the production version which I hope will focus on some detail rather than be watered down like many concepts which go into production as I think it will look dated extremely quickly otherwise.

Is it me or have they recycled the front end of the early 350z prototype. From the back and the profile it’s a pretty car but that front end is the dogs. 

Maybe it will grow on me but the frog faced front end and that big square grill is not doing it for me. Nice interior.

 

 

3 minutes ago, Gaz 300 said:

Maybe it will grow on me but the frog faced front end and that big square grill is not doing it for me. Nice interior.

 

 

I think the interior is already looking dated. We are still at least a year away from production of this car and that interior looks 10 years out of date if you take away the screens. Nothing about that interior screams 'bang up to date' to me.

Back end lights must be z32 inspired.

 

 

With all the goings on in at Nissan and the world going all "electric" all credit to them for producing a prototype car with old school

twin turbo V6, manual and rear wheel drive. To think at one time the Z badge looked like it was going to end up on a crossover.

I'm pleased they're sticking with non electric, RWD, manual etc. 

But for me this car just looks too much like a rehash of a 370z. Nothing about it screams "next gen sports car". Christ, even the engine in it is going to be old by the time it goes into production. 

It'll be a rare sight on these shores anyway since they ain't selling it in Europe. Though I suppose someone might be willing to do a deal with Nissan like Litchfield did for the R34 back in the day and import them semi officially in small numbers. 

It'll be easy enough to personally import I'm sure. The engine (VR30DDTT) they're putting in it is already nearly 4 years old and is the one currently fitted to the Infiniti Q50S/Q60S, it's a pretty potent engine with good tuning ability. A friend of mine in the US has a Q60S and I'd probably rather have that.

 

The platform is a revised Z34 platform, Z1 were asked by Nissan USA to fit a VR30DDTT into a 370 to see what it's tuning and handling potential and drivability was like in US environments. Seems to be a very good combination.

 

I just don't think visually it has much appeal at all. Exterior looks like a quickly rehashed 370z, the interior the same. In fact the interior whilst not offensive, is probably the least inspiring interior I've seen for a sports car in quite a while. It's woeful dated already. I'm sure this will be changed as a lot of it looks like it's lifted straight from the 370 which is already well past its sell-by date (although a car I've spent many hours behind the wheel of and do enjoy it) and as that car has gotten older, it's looked worse and worse. NISMO looked fantastic....this is Nissan's last celebratory 2020 special edition version and it looks about as flaccid a car as you can get. Compare it to the NISMO version from a while decade ago and you can see how it's gotten worse over time.

 

 

I really like the side profile of it, looks great, the front needs a bit of tweaking though.

love the back end why cant the guy who did the back of the car, did the front or was he having a bad design day when he got to the front need some aftermarket bumpers to sort out that awful front very underwelmed.

I like it from the side and back. That rear quarter view looks really good. Im not liking the front, I think the grill is too big, gopping some might say. Im not a fan of the interior.....its a bit.....vauxhall corsa....To quote Clarkson "Looks like the inside of a mans washbag"

Kudos to Nissan for going with an ICE engine especially in these times.

Going back to the looks (front end) it is still a prototype and the 2001 GTR prototype did look different to the final release, so maybe they will fine tweak it a bit? As you can see in the picture its similar, but not the GTR we know. Fingers crossed they sort the front out a bit...

 

Agreed, the interior is very 'Lynx'. 

one day on the motorway I saw a nissan that looked like a bigger 370 than the actual 370 What nissan was that ?

8 hours ago, Lexx said:

It'll be a rare sight on these shores anyway since they ain't selling it in Europe. Though I suppose someone might be willing to do a deal with Nissan like Litchfield did for the R34 back in the day and import them semi officially in small numbers. 

I wonder how this will play out, after all the Euro market for Nissan is poor. Something like less than 5% of their global sales are to the EU and the U.K. is the largest consumer. About 30K nissans were purchased in the U.K., comparatively Germany and France less than 10k each. 
With the trade deal between the U.K. and Japan it’s possible that situation may change over the coming years. Who knows, if it looks like that though it will be globally rare because it’s a munter and a rehash of an already old and dated car. 

8 minutes ago, TonyB said:

one day on the motorway I saw a nissan that looked like a bigger 370 than the actual 370 What nissan was that ?

Nissan 390 

54 minutes ago, TonyB said:

one day on the motorway I saw a nissan that looked like a bigger 370 than the actual 370 What nissan was that ?

Infiniti G37 most likely. 

Bad ass version

Love that !

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Short video showing how the design concepts and goals for the Z proto came about with Nissan designers showing the cues taken

from the 240Z and the Z32 300ZX.

 

Front end is starting to grow on me and if you put a number plate on that big front grill it will break it up nicely. Lots of pictures coming out of different versions and here is a Nismo one.

 

Still prefer the bad ass one

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Edited September 19, 20205 yr by TonyB

20 hours ago, Gaz 300 said:

Bad ass version

Just looks like every other rice rocket BRZ/GT86/Supra. If you're 14 years old and think drifting is the best thing in the world, I can see an appeal, but it's a hard pass from me. Pretty much why I've never really loved the rest-of-world Japanese car scene really as I always found the Z enthusiasts, the heritage and the cars infinitely more appealing over the rocket-bunny infested Fast & Furious fan-boi drifter mainstream Jap car scene.

 

Edited September 18, 20205 yr by Funkysi

Front end is starting to grow on me and if you put a number plate on that big front grill it will break it up nicely. Lots of pictures coming out of different versions and here is a Nismo one.
 

If they really do release it with that gigantic grill, there will be an immediate offering of aftermarket front ends to address this issue I’m sure! So I wouldn’t be too worried tbh.


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I like the 19" wheels on it as well