Nissan Z patent drawings show it's going to look very much like the Z Proto

[TexturedSoyProtein]

Patent drawings for the upcoming Nissan Z have leaked. It looks basically identical to the Z Proto, with a few small changes for production including rear side reflectors, a safety nanny/active cruise sensor in the grille, parking sensors in the fascias, and keyholes for the doors and hatch.

I've always been of two minds about the modern Zs starting with the 350. I think they look cool as hell with their massively flared fender proportions, but I've always been a bit let down by the driving experience. The rear visibility and general feeling of claustrophobia is atrocious in both coupe and convertible body styles, and the performance is never appreciably different from its more practical Infiniti cousins.

That said, damn if this new version doesn't speak to me in some kind of way. I know it's not a new platform, but the combo of the proportions, the TT V6, Japanese build quality/reliability (even if Nissan isn't exactly at the top of the heap among Japanese manufacturers), and manual transmission that's not available over at Infiniti anymore, makes it infinitely more appealing to me than the Z4upra.

Vs the concept...

[khalbali]

@texturedsoyprotein I'm with you, never been a big nissan guy but this looks great and the stick definitely makes it a better choice than the supra, looks better too. Just too expensive for me unfortunately.

[benjrblant]

@texturedsoyprotein I quite like it. I get a ton of 240/260/280z vibes from certain lines, but it still looks clean and modern.
excited to see clean lines and less busy designs making a solid comeback in automotive design.

[rctothefuture]

I'm tempted to hold off on a Camaro to try out the new Z. I can't imagine it'll be better than a Camaro, but the styling of this thing is gorgeous.

[Milky]

@texturedsoyprotein Pretty much same for me. Definitely going to test drive one ... which is something I haven't done since a 350z about 8 years ago.
I really want to see it colors other than highlighter and hope it drives well.
Sidenote, I wonder if it (or anyone) has radar cruise on a manual car?

[TexturedSoyProtein]

@milky My Civic Si has active cruise and a stick. That's one of the main reasons I bought it. Both it and the Type-R gained Honda Sensing for 2020. The only other stick shift cars I know of with active cruise are the GTI and Mustang. Maybe some Porsches but I haven't looked into it.

[TexturedSoyProtein]

@rctothefuture That would be quite the battle of bad visibility and claustrophobia.

[Milky]

@texturedsoyprotein Huh, genuinely did not know. Neat.

Also this convo reminded why I didn't seriously consider the Z last time. A quote from my insurance agent:
Your current Crossfire is $980 per 6 months
2008 Nissan 350Z is $2140.00 per 6 months
2016 Mazda Miata is $1461.00 per 6 months
Im willing to bet people haven't stopped crashing Zs so it'll probably still be high.

*the quote was from 2017, for Detroit and I had a couple tickets

[rctothefuture]

@texturedsoyprotein It looks like the Nissan might be a tad bit better to look out. I enjoyed the 370z I drove once, so I'm excited to check out the Z. I'm worried it'll be like the Supra and I won't fit in the damn thing.

[TexturedSoyProtein]

@milky I think the stick + active cruise combo is rare because of two things.

1. Stick shifts in general are rare nowadays.

2. Active cruise is usually part of a suite of features including automatic emergency braking, and it's tricky to integrate AEB with a stick because of the need to step on the clutch when coming to a stop. Subaru has gone on record saying they hadn't figured a way to make their EyeSight suite work with a manual transmission. Hyunda/Kia/Genesis also have active cruise & manual transmissions as mutually exclusive, for example the Veloster Turbo Ultimate has active cruise but only comes with a DCT, and the Genesis G70 2.0T 6MT has no active cruise. I don't honestly know if the Honda Sensing in my car can bring it to a complete stop like automatic transmission cars with these safety nannies. It's beeped at me to brake a few times when approaching something close but I've never had it take over braking for me, yet.

[way2blu]

@texturedsoyprotein

Honda: brings back NSX

Also Honda: “The NSX is about being new & different and stick shift isn’t important”

NSX sales: flop

Toyota: brings back Supra

Also Toyota: “It needs an inline six but nobody cares about having a stick shift”

Public: sees about as many Supras on the road as NSXs

Chevy: makes the Mid-Engine Corvette happen

Also Chevy: “DCT-only is all we can offer”

...

I’m so much more excited for the stick shift Z than anything else in the segment. The TT V6 fixes the Z’s only driving-related problem — old peaky V6 that can’t keep up with a 4 cylinder BMW — and the new cleaner design is ohhh so nice.

Like, I wouldn’t care if it weighed the same and handled the same as the old one. It just needed torque and better looks, the rest of the formula is exactly what it needs to be — an old school, manual, RWD liftback coupe.

[TexturedSoyProtein]

@way2blu GM is having no problems selling C8s, and I don't think the lack of a manual is what's holding back NSX or Supra sales.

NSX is a sales flop for the same reason the original was a sales flop, which is that brand new exotic car buyers never quite got excited about it in the way they get excited about things like Ferraris, Lambos & Porsches. Back when the OG NSX first came out it had a bit of a moment because early 90s exotics were kinda terrible, but by the time the second half of the 90s arrived it was already languishing. Of course now the OG NSX is a classic everybody is like 'the OG NSX was such an amazing piece of purity of engineering' but that's not how buyers responded to it for the majority of its lifespan.

The Supra is selling a lot better than the Z4, and while many people ding it for the lack of a manual, I'm sure many more of them ding it for being a BMW instead of a Toyota.

[way2blu]

@texturedsoyprotein I guess to be clear, I just mean the manual makes the Z much more appealing to the “sports car” segment these days (of which I’m very much a customer).

If Chevy & Toyota have been selling well, my part of SoCal may have missed the memo. I’ll have to check out the actual sales data. My anecdotal evidence probably is pretty far off

[TexturedSoyProtein]

@way2blu I wouldn't say the Supra is selling "well," but it's selling more than the Z4. 5,887 sold in the US in 2020 vs 2,364 Z4s. Chevy sold 21,627 Corvettes but I don't know the C7/C8 breakdown.

[Taylor Martin]

@texturedsoyprotein It always makes me happy when production cars don't stray too far from the concepts and prototypes. Makes it feel like we're not actually that far away from really cool stuff, and the Z is certainly cool.

[MM54]

It looks good, but what is with the door handles?

[2Fast2Furious]

@texturedsoyprotein if they don't kill the sedan range of the MR platform within the next few years I await a neat sedan version of this more modernized q60 as either a q50 or a flagship nissan if infiniti dies like it sure seems it will. Anyway it wouldnt have a manual trans offering but I do love that lots of 370z stuff trickled down to the G and Q cars and those also included AWD.
Also hope they do more than just stick the red sport 400 vr30 engine in it with a manual or the 7speed auto I have, they should definitely offer a better performing version or at least leave it on the table for a nismo variant.

[TexturedSoyProtein]

@mm54 The 350Z & 370Z door handles are in roughly the same spot.

[MM54]

@texturedsoyprotein Doesn't fit the car at all

[TexturedSoyProtein]

@mm54 Well hey at least now they're body color and flush with the door instead of the bare metal warts on the 350 & 370.

[Corollavirus]

Looks great.

I think it would be interesting with fender mirrors too...

[MM54]

@texturedsoyprotein This is true - if they end up that way. Looking at their bulk in the patent sketches, I wouldn't be too confident.

[TexturedSoyProtein]

@mm54 Look at sketches 2 & 7. The door handles are definitely flush from those angles. The difference in the door handles vs the concept is the concept's handles are a single flap, while the production version has an outer fixed part that contains the key hole, and an inner handle. Basically like the back door handles on a Honda HR-V but integrated into the sheetmetal part of the door rather than the window trim.

[jayvincent]

@benjrblant said in Nissan Z patent drawings show it's going to look very much like the Z Proto:

@texturedsoyprotein I quite like it. I get a ton of 240/260/280z vibes from certain lines, but it still looks clean and modern.
excited to see clean lines and less busy designs making a solid comeback in automotive design.

and a bit of the 300ZX roof lines, too... since I'm resto-ing one now, I'm hoping the 400Z craze will boost interest when I think about selling it in a few years...