Published:
28 January 2012In its effort to produce a final shape for the Nissan 370Z, Nissan enlisted the services of every single member of its design team, from Paddington to California. It regarded the project as being that sacred, that important to get right.
In the metal, their creation looks undeniably striking – yet it’s also a very clear evolution of what we’ve seen before. It is exactly how you’d expect a modern interpretation of the 350Z look, even if the detailing around the nose and tail in particular is entirely new.
On the road it is unmistakably a Nissan Z-car, right down to the exceedingly handsome 19-inch Rays alloys (standard on GT Pack, not on the base car, which gets 18" wheels).
Better breathing for the V6 engine is provided by a much bigger grille in the nose. The bonnet features a pair of long, thin power bulges and is made of aluminium to help keep the kerb weight below 1600kg. Meanwhile, massive wheel arches front and rear provide an old-school muscle car look.
Even the mirror design is aerodynamic led to help reduce the amount of wind noise, while boomerang-shaped rear lights are one of the 370Z’s most distinctive styling features.
Twin exhausts are finished in chrome and they look every bit as good as the noise that comes out of them at 5000rpm.
The Nismo coupe wears a bodykit which aids the 370Z’s high speed stability by smoothing airflow around and underneath its body. It is difficult to miss, adding a big boot-mounted spoiler and some width to cover those wider rear wheels – the rears are half an inch wider – while a protruding front splitter and rear diffuser add 150mm to the Nismo’s length.
