In September, Nissan enriched the automotive world with the delightful Z Proto, heralding the long-awaited next step in the Z model line. These patent sketches show that the car actually goes into production virtually unchanged.
Now that in itself comes as no surprise. Shortly after the unveiling of the Z Proto, Nissan already promised that the car is practically ready for series production. However, such a claim is still a case of ‘see first and then believe’. That ‘seeing’ happens today.
The above sketches come from the database of a patent office, where they were fished out by us after a tip from the Australian Car Advice. At first glance, it seems ‘normal’ to be the Z Proto, but there are subtle differences. For example, the digital car has parking sensors, a radar / sensor for adaptive cruise control, the reflectors on the sides of the rear bumper, which are mandatory in North America, and lock holes in the tailgate and left door.
We are actually there with that, as far as these drawings are concerned. Perhaps there will also be some changes in the layout of the unaltered shape light units, but that is not visible at the moment. All the sheet metal seems to come out of the battle completely undamaged, except for the details mentioned. Nissan actually only adds things that are unavoidable for a production car.
There are no pictures of the interior, but the interior of the Z Proto already looks very ready for production.
The new ‘Z-car’ is the long-awaited successor to the outdated 370Z. It is expected to be called 400Z. That number then no longer refers to the cylinder capacity, but to the engine power in horsepower. Nissan is probably mounting a 3.0 Twin Turbo-V6 from Infiniti, good for about 298 kW or 400 hp. Of course that motor drives the rear wheels. The clutch pedal of the Z Proto proves that a manual gearbox can also be possible.
Old-fashioned petrol fun, but that fun doesn’t seem to be for us. In the Netherlands (and perhaps even the whole of Europe) a car like the Nissan 400Z is impossible to put on the market competitively, so Nissan seems to forgo a European career for this model entirely.