For those who are unsure whether Nissan will make a lot of changes to the Z Proto before it becomes ‘the new Z’, the lead designer has a clear answer. The 370Z successor will soon be ‘almost identical’ to this prototype.
It is not without reason that Nissan does not call the Z Proto a concept car. Chief designer Alfonso Albaisa makes no mistake about it; the Z Proto is in fact already the new Z and it is at most detailed at best. Opposite CarExpert explains the Cuban-American designer: “We deliberately didn’t call it a concept car, because it isn’t. Hence the name Proto. This is the real car, it’s just not finished yet.”
Albaisa also indicates that what is hidden under the carriage can also be broadly expected in the production version. “R&D is already in the final phase. If changes are made, they will only be very minor adjustments.” The most persistent rumor about the powertrain is that the double-blown 3.0-liter V6 from the Infiniti Q60, among others, is making its way to the ‘400Z’. It delivers 406 hp and since the new Z gets its name based on its power, it is obvious that the ‘400Z’ achieves comparable figures. By the way, the forces go to the rear wheels via a manual six-speed gearbox, we now know that.
Now the key question is: when will the production version be unveiled and released? Nissan is still silent about this in all languages, but in the past it turned out to take quite a while. In October 2005, Nissan unveiled the GT-R Concept and, like this Z Proto, that was a very production-ready prototype, as it turned out. However, the definitive GT-R was not shown until two years later. On the European market we had to wait until 2009 for the GT-R. Let’s hope it won’t be as long now, although unfortunately we are missing out here in Europe anyway. The ‘400Z’ is not offered here via the usual channels.