Nissan’s latest edition to the Z-car line-up, and long-awaited successor to the 370Z, has been green-lit for New Zealand.
The new Nissan Z (formerly 400Z), is due to arrive in dealerships mid-2022.
Nissan New Zealand Managing Director, Ben Hamilton, says “the fastest, most powerful and most exciting Nissan Z car ever is now ready to launch in New Zealand, and I can’t wait for people to climb behind the wheel of this new icon.”
The new Nissan Z is powered by a 3.0-litre twin-turbo V6, producing 298kW of power and 475Nm of torque – the latter up 31% on the 370Z. Not only is it faster and more powerful than the 370Z, but Nissan claims they’ve improved power-to-weight by 13% as well.
With these figures, Nissan appears to have the new Toyota Supra in its crosshairs. The Nissan Z is up 13kW on power over the Supra, but down 25Nm on torque.
However, Nissan is being coy with some performance figures. According to Nissan, the new Z accelerates 15% quicker to 100kph, relative to the outgoing 370Z. The old car was good for a 0-100kph time of around 5.1 seconds on a good day, meaning the new Z should score a time in the low 4 second range.
Fortunately, Nissan did the one thing Toyota should have done when they launched the Supra, and that was offer a manual gearbox.
The Nissan Z will be offered as a 6-speed manual or a 9-speed automatic. Manual options also get a high-performance clutch supplied by Exedy.
Inside, the Nissan Z features a leather interior, a fully customisable 12.3-inch TFT display, an 8.0-inch infotainment screen with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay smart-phone integration, the all-important launch control and three driving modes – Standard, Enhanced and Sport. The full suite of modern safety gubbins (or Nissan Intelligent Mobility safety suite) is standard.
To celebrate the all-new Nissan Z in New Zealand, a special edition Proto Spec flagship version will be available from launch. The Proto Spec will feature 19-inch bronze forged alloy wheels, yellow brake calipers, a bespoke interior and is finished in Ikazuchi Yellow topped by a black roof.
Prices will be confirmed closer to release. Pssst. Nissan. Send one over here please.
Pricing would be great to have?
Agree! But nothing released yet, as far as prices go.
No that we have pricing, an actual date or availability would be great