Nissan will soon replace 350Z with 370Z
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According to company’s design chief, Shiro Nakamura the 370Z will be more aggressive than the 350Z with more muscular panel surfaces.
The essential proportions of the Z remain intact, as does the curved roof and the distinctive vertical door handles. Most surprising is the news that the new Z-car sits on a wheelbase shorter than the 2650mm of the outgoing car, taking advantage of the fact that it remains a two-seater.
The new car’s name, 370Z, signifies the enlargement of the V6 engine’s capacity to 3.7 litres. In this form it produces 326bhp when installed in the US-market Infiniti G37 coupé, to which the Z is closely related. That’s a useful improvement on the 309bhp of the current 350Z, and torque increases slightly from the 264lb ft of today’s car to 270lb ft at 5200rpm.
Most probably the car will come with a six-speed manual gearbox, as before, and the option of a seven-speed automatic with paddle-shift control.
The coupé will undoubtedly be followed by a roadster version, as before, but a potential new addition could be a diesel, once production of the V6 oil-burner that the company is developing comes on stream.
Even a diesel version is possible as Audi has successfully introduced TT TDI in Europe. Diesel version should help Nissan to compete with Audi. Sounds strange, but diesel engines can be found on almost all car types already. We dont have supercars yet that are powered by a diesel engine, but that is just a matter of time…
The 370Z will be unveiled this November at the Los Angeles motor show and go on sale in the UK in the first half of 2009 as a 2010 model.
Source: Autocar
