With August 17 set as the date for the official unveiling of the all-new Nissan Z sports car, a trio of teaser videos has been released by Nissan USA on Instagram ahead of its debut.
Previewed by the Z Proto concept car that was revealed last September, the production Z appears to stay true to the lines and cues of the show car, even if the eventual product shown here remains largely under the cover of darkness. Turn up the brightness on your screens, and you’ll be able to just about see the hint of yellow on this car, too.
Judging by these teaser clips, it appears that much of the Z Proto’s cues are carried over, from the dual curved LED DRLs that imply the circular form of its 240Z ancestor, to the metal-look trim that follows its roofline from the top of the windscreen to the bootlid.
These appear to remain true to concept form, then, which also bodes well for the interior of the Z Proto which already looks ready for production. The cabin of the show car sports a dished, three-spoke multi-function steering wheel ahead of a 12.3-inch digital instrument panel, joined by three auxiliary gauges centred at the top of the dashboard, albeit ever so slightly recessed compared to the 370Z’s and 350Z’s trio.
Nissan remains tight-lipped about technical specifications for the Z, though this has been reported to feature the 3.0 litre twin-turbo V6 engine from the Infiniti Q60 Red Sport 400 which packs 400 hp and 475 Nm of torque, or gains of 68 hp and 109 Nm over the 3.7 litre naturally aspirated V6 in the 370Z.
Stick-shift purists, too, will have reason to rejoice, as the soon-to-launch Z will arrive as standard with a six-speed manual sending drive to the rear wheels, though an automatic transmission will be available as well.
Captions on the Instagram posts suggest a car that has been crafted with emphasis on driver enjoyment rather than raw numbers, with quips such as “driving as it should be” and “Our most impressive stat? Your heart rate behind the wheel.” That said, the uprated engine output figures are expected to improve upon its 370Z predecessor’s acceleration figures.
The Japanese sports car segment will soon be joined by the Nissan Z, populating a category that currently features the likes of the Toyota GR86 and Subaru BRZ, Toyota GR Supra among its front-engined, rear-wheel-driven compatriots.
Further afield on the higher rungs of the market, the Honda NSX (Acura for the American market) will offer its swansong in the NSX Type S with a run of 350 limits before the curtain is drawn on production of the mid-engined, tri-motor hybrid sports car, while the current generation of the Nissan GT-R soldiers on with numerous Nismo versions and special builds from the debut of the 2007 original.
GALLERY: Nissan Z Proto concept
The post 2022 Nissan Z – more teasers ahead of Aug 17 debut appeared first on Paul Tan's Automotive News.
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