NISSAN Z PROTO - FRIGGIN' FINALLY. - Vanishing Point, Car Culture, Automobiles, Auto Musings A Place for Automotive Reviews & Car Culture

UPDATE: The Z Proto will make its first appearance to the general public at the Chicago Auto Show this week:

July 15-18, 9 a.m. – 10 p.m.
July 19, 9 a.m. – 8 p.m.

Nissan hasn’t done a ground-up redesign of the Z since 2003 (no, I’m not counting the 2009 refresh from 350Z to 370Z – that was far from a “new bones” design). So that’s beyond an eternity in today’s auto jungle. But hallelijiyah praise THE LORD we have a new Z – well, 90% or so to production – likely next year. Fingers crossed.

And it looks damn good. Here’s some eye candy:

The silhouette is distinctly “Z” – you can see the long, downward sloping hood, downward sloping character surfacing detail on the fender through to the rear wheel, the hatchback design. It looks modern and 21st Century, and yet a throwback at the same time. Well done.

Perhaps the least convincing angle of the entire car is dead-on in front. This front 3/4 view
shows what we mean: it’s kind of bland; other than the cool LED lights paying homage to both modernity and the original 240Z light indent, it doesn’t have much going on.

We’ll be excited to see what we’re cookin’ with IRL.
But in pictures, on a screen, the front snout is a decided “meh.” It clearly shows a 350/370Z connection, but is bigger and duller. Kinda looks like a catfish or whale shark snout.

Thankfully, (1) the front license plate will obscure some of that in most US states,
and (2) the rest of the design is spot-on.

THE SEXY: This rear 3/4 view is the slam-dunk of the whole design. It evokes 300ZX (rear taillights) and the O.G. 240Z (overall shaping, fat rear haunches, the way the hatchback glass blends seamlessly in to an upright bottom). Z finally got some SexyBack.

Nissan almost shadily updated their previous woefully-outdated infotainment system this year, beginning with the Altima and Sentra. But the Z seems to take it to a higher level, with clearer high-end materials, super high-res infotainment screen, properly short shifter for the manual, and what looks like a hi-res dash display. It’s hard to tell in initial photos how high-quality the plastics are, but we’re willing to bet they’re an improvement over the current Z.

Whether they’re better than its fo sho rival, the Toyota Supra (aka BMW Z4) – we’ll have to wait and see.

Overall? 8.5/10. If the front end (headlights aside) were a bit more distinctive and prettier, it’d have been a grand slam. But ain’t nothin’ perfect in this world, especially considering all of Nissan’s troubles over the last couple of years* and the fact that they had perhaps the oldest product portfolio of any major carmaker, it’s refreshing to see a renewed focus on product.

The Z Proto, we hope, will be the start of something big.

For more:

https://www.cnn.com/2020/09/15/success/nissan-z-proto-sports-car/index.html

*https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2019/11/18/business/nissan-carlos-ghosn-scandal-anniversary