Unlike so many humans, four decades of existence have only made the Nissan Z stronger, lighter, smarter, tighter, firmer and more agile than ever. Insert your favourite ‘badly-aging celebrity’ joke here.
As the latest generation of an affordable Japanese performance flagship, Nissan’s made the latest generation of their long-lived “Z” car smaller and faster than the 350Z that came before it. Now wearing a 370Z badge to reflect its up-sized 3.7 litre engine, the new machine has been given a host of improvements over the latter-- and many say the latter was a heck of a machine to begin with.
In a nutshell, engineers and designers worked to improve all of the Z’s dimensions, increasing track and wheelbase while shortening and lowering the overall body. There’s some weight reduction, and a heap more power, too. In human terms, the Z started hitting the gym, took some steroids, got a facelift, and started a diet consisting mainly of performance-enhancing drugs.
Sleek and dynamic on a whole new level
The Z’s redesign was executed with a more streamlined and compact body in mind. Shrunk down and bulked up, the 370 wears its skin tightly-- and offers up plenty of intriguing shapes and dramatic lines to keep the eyes busy. The effect of the new Z’s voluptuous, bulging and sweeping body visually explodes as applied to such a compressed overall package.
The Ray’s wheels fitted to the tester also looked ridiculously good, as did the vertically-oriented door handles, low centre-mounted fog lamp and dual roof bulges over the occupant seating positions. The tester was frequently photographed at stop-lights by camera phones, and it even paralyzed a school-bus full of young kids who dropped their jaws and pointed it out in traffic. Looks-wise, the detail density and attention-grabbing factor right off the charts.
The Perfect Tachometer
Things go even further into sensory-overload when you start driving the Z hard. The 3.7 litre powerplant gets 4 cams and 24 fully variable valves, sending 332 horsepower rearward in a smooth and linear surge to 7,500 RPM.
Near that point, the engine begins to sound infuriated-- and the acceleration and sound effects become downright overwhelming. Thankfully, there’s a giant centre-mounted tachometer with a shift-indicator light that warns drivers visually to change up without taking their eyes off the road.
The tachometer even has the word “REV” printed on its face, which is plenty appropriate. After all, at the point where most similarly-sized engines begin to run out of breath, the Z’s V6 begins to wake up before launching the car forward in a peaky, furious adrenaline rush.
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| When it comes to fantastic performance, styling and entertainment value, the latest Z is actually sort of a bargain. (Photo: Justin Pritchard)/Auto123.com) |
As the latest generation of an affordable Japanese performance flagship, Nissan’s made the latest generation of their long-lived “Z” car smaller and faster than the 350Z that came before it. Now wearing a 370Z badge to reflect its up-sized 3.7 litre engine, the new machine has been given a host of improvements over the latter-- and many say the latter was a heck of a machine to begin with.
In a nutshell, engineers and designers worked to improve all of the Z’s dimensions, increasing track and wheelbase while shortening and lowering the overall body. There’s some weight reduction, and a heap more power, too. In human terms, the Z started hitting the gym, took some steroids, got a facelift, and started a diet consisting mainly of performance-enhancing drugs.
Sleek and dynamic on a whole new level
The Z’s redesign was executed with a more streamlined and compact body in mind. Shrunk down and bulked up, the 370 wears its skin tightly-- and offers up plenty of intriguing shapes and dramatic lines to keep the eyes busy. The effect of the new Z’s voluptuous, bulging and sweeping body visually explodes as applied to such a compressed overall package.
The Ray’s wheels fitted to the tester also looked ridiculously good, as did the vertically-oriented door handles, low centre-mounted fog lamp and dual roof bulges over the occupant seating positions. The tester was frequently photographed at stop-lights by camera phones, and it even paralyzed a school-bus full of young kids who dropped their jaws and pointed it out in traffic. Looks-wise, the detail density and attention-grabbing factor right off the charts.
The Perfect Tachometer
Things go even further into sensory-overload when you start driving the Z hard. The 3.7 litre powerplant gets 4 cams and 24 fully variable valves, sending 332 horsepower rearward in a smooth and linear surge to 7,500 RPM.
Near that point, the engine begins to sound infuriated-- and the acceleration and sound effects become downright overwhelming. Thankfully, there’s a giant centre-mounted tachometer with a shift-indicator light that warns drivers visually to change up without taking their eyes off the road.
The tachometer even has the word “REV” printed on its face, which is plenty appropriate. After all, at the point where most similarly-sized engines begin to run out of breath, the Z’s V6 begins to wake up before launching the car forward in a peaky, furious adrenaline rush.
 |
| Thankfully, there’s a giant centre-mounted tachometer with a shift-indicator light that warns drivers visually to change up without taking their eyes off the road. (Photo: Justin Pritchard)/Auto123.com) |