The Nissan 350Z Was The Revival Of A Legend

[Music] the datson 240Z was a revelation not just for Nissan but for Japanese cars and the automotive industry as a whole it offered Stellar performance and unparalleled practicality in a stylish and affordable package Nissan's two- seat Runabout started at about $3,500 which undercut established sports cars by a considerable margin and with 150 horsepower and 146 PBT of torque it blew other Coupes around its price range out of the water the Z was in a class of its own but change was on the horizon shifting consumer taste as well as increasingly stringent safety and Emissions regulations forced the Z to evolve in 1974 the 240Z became the 260Z the update was all but necessary to maintain the status quo while it brought performance figures back to Snuff and then some it also added weight and introduced complexity engine displacement for American Market examples increased again to 2.8 l in 1975 for as much of a sensation as the s30 was it would be impossible to carry its philosophy into the 80s the Z had to adapt or die Nissan released a car for the coming decade in the 280ZX it shook up the Z Mantra instead of relying on Cheap Thrills the S130 leaned on its amenities and creature Comforts motoring journalists of the day agreed that something was Lost in Translation to amend these concerns Nissan adopted the philosophy of addition by addition the inclusion of a Turbocharger in 1981 turned it into a juggernaut relatively speaking in 1989 saw the release of the z32 300 ZX the most advanced Z car yet a powerful twint turbocharged engine and a bleeding edge four-wheel steering system placed it among the most serious performance cars on the market all of this quite literally came out a cost enthusiasts could get their way into a base model for a bit over $27,000 in 1989 while the turbo variant was priced from 33,000 by 1996 these prices had sort to more than $37,000 and $444,000 respectively after this Nissan pulled the car from the US market it soldiered on for a few more years in Japan but by the year 2000 the Z was history the zase discontinuation devastated those at Nissan design America in La Hoya California Studio president Jerry hburg believed it was a colossal misstep Nissan was going through a rough patch so financially speaking putting the program on ice made sense to hburg whatever monetary benefit was gained from the decision held in comparison to what it lost in terms of its reputation letting a name plate like the Z like dormant was ill-advised to say the least he wasn't going to sit idly by while its Legacy faded from memory the studio president called an all hands meeting and gathered the 20 or so designers and managers together herberg had just one question for them if any of you were running the corporation what would you do to turn things around their suggestions long lost to time were likely focused on stopping the bleeding trimming Nissan's model lineup refreshing its Trio of four-door stall Awards and doubling down on the sport utility Market would have at least put the company in a more advantageous position things finally got back to hburg who said I'd bring back the Z herberg explained that this went far deeper than the numbers the automotive industry was at its nature nature an irrational and emotional one by getting rid of the Z they' also gotten out of the emotional business designing a new model would in his own words not only remind the public of who we are it would by our sheer involvement remind us of who we are naturally the question that followed was what would a new zc car look like NDA launched a design program to find out this was not run by the higher-ups while this approach afforded them complete control over the car's design it also meant that outside of the concrete walls of NDA there was no official support for their Endeavor additionally dedicating valuable studio time to it would have been costly and pulled their attention away from other more pressing matters designers squeezed work in whenever they could whether it was during lunch breaks or the rare moments of downtime they made slow steady progress and in another timeline the project probably stops around here perhaps they get it out of their system and direct their efforts back toward styling other cars fortunately that's not what happened NDA caught a break as detailed in the book Nissan 350Z behind the resurrection of a legend the company hired Jason Vines at its head of public relations in April of 1988 he visited the studio and got along quite well with hburg what was intended to be a brief stop turned into a comprehensive tour of the facility the pair had a look at a few concept cars and spoke with Studio Personnel they had a grand time though Vines noticed that something was missing he turned to hburg and asked so where's the Z he pointed to his head and responded it's right here Vines asked well can you take it out hburg explained that he couldn't not only because he'd be breaking the laws of the universe but also because they didn't have the resources at their disposal to do so Vines took the matter into his own hands he met with Nissan division head Mike sergy and made an unusual request Vines had previously worked at Chrysler that company was in even worse shape than Nissan back then optimism was in short supply so Chrysler routinely organized Road shows to raise the spirits of both employees and Industry insiders they showed future production model to show them that there was a light at the end of the tunnel Vines proposed something similar for Nissan the company had several products on the way in the Sentra Maxima and extera a peak even further into the timeline would surely make it an event to remember Nissan needed concept cars and Vines knew just who to turn to he called hburg and together they came up with a plan of attack Nissan design America would further develop the sport utility truck truck concept as well as its yet realized zcar of course this all hinged on Vine securing funding for the undertaking that proved to be a challenge unto itself metal Crafters a vehicle fabricator in Fountain Valley California quoted him $1 million for full-size clay models of both cars Vines could only come up with $ 900,000 but went along with it anyway the financial bottleneck prevented The Firm from completing the project Nissan used this to its Advantage modelers finished 3/4 of the cars and left the last quarter in rough Clay Vines took this opportunity to call them Works in progress the road show opened in New York City and Outsiders got to lay eyes on a new Z for the first time in 3 years it was an homage to the original 240Z and a pretty Brazen one at that the front lights were a dead ringer for the sugar scoop units from the original orig it also had chrome bumpers but they didn't span the entirety of the front end their inclusion here is questionable on the 240Z it helped to break up the large rectangular intake here they appear to be nothing more than a not to a bygone era they're far from the worst part of the design though take a look at those massive protrusions at the front and rear of the car they clash with the flowing Bodywork and stick out pretty badly you'd think their inclusion was for regulatory purposes but let me remind you that this is a clay model and is therefore free from the restrictions that production cars have to deal with the road show model was a mixed bag more bad than good but people were excited by the mere Prospect of a new Z some attendees were so moved by it that they had tears in their eyes after its showing at the Big Apple the car appeared in smira Tennessee and lo Los Angeles the event was so successful that a Nissan executive pulled hburg aside and told him you've done something very dangerous you've put Nissan in a corner and made it very awkward for us to not do the car although it isn't unheard of for car Design Studios to develop their own projects in secret it takes a certain level of cre creativity and perseverance to bring them to life like this that philosophy starts at the very top with Jerry hburg a man whose career could have looked very different the Ohio native was a musical Wonder kind according to a 2019 San Diego Union Tribune article by Peter Row hburg studied composition and conducting at the Cleveland Institute of music from the age of six another passion found a way into his life though a Philo radio in their home caught his eye and the young herberg asked his uncle who had designed it he responded an industrial designer something about that term captivated him two diametrically opposed fields in the Arts and Sciences could be melded together to create a beautiful functional product Jerry relentlessly pursued design though he also kept a strong interest in music when he was a teenager he and a few of his friends formed a band by the name of Jerry Paul in the plebs the group released a handful of hits including I want my ring bag and sparkling blue they even opened for the likes of Fabian Forte and Frankie Avalon hburg went on to study mechanical engineering at Ohio State University and specialized in industrial design at the Cleveland Institute of Art General Motors hired him in 1964 through a program that was intended to bring those who didn't have a background in automotive design into the studio he contributed to a number of icon IC cars including the lasaber GTO firebird and Grand Prix soon enough the company appointed him as the chief designer for the Buick and Pontiac divisions he was a maid man and it seemed like he'd spent the rest of his career in Detroit there was a bit of discontent Brewing under the surface though the design by committee environment diluted the creative process while the Cutthroat competitive atmosphere that it had developed over the years had a way of sty Ling creativity in 1980 hburg reached the crossroads Nissan wanted to open a design studio in the US and came into contact with him through a head hunting firm leaving GM was a difficult decision even with his issues with their ways but he couldn't pass up the opportunity to get in on the ground floor of a new studio herberg wouldn't just be involved in design operations as per the agreement he'd help select a site for the new facility as well as have input on its architectural design most importantly he and his staff would have the freedom to initiate their own projects shun ishihara Nissan's president at the time and one of the main figures who spearheaded ind's establishment encouraged the studio to drum to its own beat the team scouted locations in Los Angeles New Jersey and Detroit before settling down in San Diego Nissan set up a temporary studio in July 1980 before moving into its permanent offices in early 1982 it originally went by Nissan design International but adopted its current name at a later date the site diverges from a typical Studio culture in a few key ways facilities such as BMW's Fizz operation are highly secured and shrouded in secrecy NDA is comparatively looser with its lack of fining and Gatekeepers the working environment was also a bit more relaxed and even a bit strange car styling magazine ran a story on a facility in 1989 and while they were there they spotted chief engineer Joseph morowski being thrown into a pond now what could he have possibly done to receive such treatment if you guessed earn two industry Awards then you'd be correct the staff employed a practice known as Pond ducking to commemorate such occasions although it wasn't as ruthless as the studios in the Motor City IND still fostered a competitive Spirit automotive design is naturally a profession where iron sharpens iron but this even spilled outside of the office a tennis court lies to the north while a sand volleyball pit sits just above the viewing platform employees didn't pull any punches even against their managers and Trash Talk was a no short supply hburg also had a unique leadership style he pushed his designers hard but also knew when to ease up on them the Union Tribune piece stated that he'd occasionally take his team out to catch mat Day movies such as Blade Runner Total Recall and Silence of the Lambs he said that this was the management of the creative process the success of the Road show model paved the way for another concept instead of being limited to Nissan employees and Industry insiders this one would be shown to the public add to one of the largest Auto shows on the circuit at the 1999 Detroit Auto Show the company unveilled the Z concept it still looked very different from the final production model hburg explained that they were focused on selling the idea rather than the car it still Bears resemblance to the 240Z but it's more contemporary in execution than the road show car the sugar scoop headlights for instance aren't just sealed beam units positioned inside of a cavity the power Dome of the hood is also present but like the after mentioned feature it's been deemphasized the rear also takes notes from that car though this area isn't nearly as successful as the front whereas the 240Z was lean and muscular from the rear 3/4 view the 1999 car appears bulbous and unstructured the rear hunches were vital to establishing The s30 Stance here they're static and don't add very much depth to the car they're closer to creases than hips further missteps lie in the rear lights the arrangement appears similar to the 240Z the brake lights are up top and the turn indicators at the bottom the execution is where it falls flat with a strange combination of harsh edges and oblock shapes while there was a lot of excitement for a new zcar the reception for this concept was a bit mixed yoshihiko matsuo the designer of the original 240Z did not mince words with his initial reaction ction he called it Bland and found that it didn't have the crispness that he felt the Z needed reactions from viewers of the channel were divisive as well some thought it was a decent effort overall and could have been something special with a few adjustments others took issue with the ride height and pronounced wheel arches a few of them were stunned that it ever saw the light of day the car's fate was put in Jeopardy just a few months after the show Nissan neared it close closer to bankruptcy with each passing day the company engaged in discussions about a potential merger with other automakers in a bid to salvage their operations renal and dler Chrysler were Front Runners but the German American Enterprise dropped out of the running leaving renal as the lone Suitor a merger was announced on March 17th and made official 10 days later the French automaker paid $6.5 billion for a 36 6.8% stake in Nissan it also appointed Carlos gone as Chief Operating Officer there was no telling how he would take to the idea of a new Z car he took some time out to visit Nissan's facilities and NDA was on his list hburg took this opportunity to air out his concerns with the company as well as present potential Solutions surprisingly or unsurprisingly his number one priority was bringing back the Z gon just said done he'd previously owned a 300 ZX and became a huge fan of the Z as much as he wanted to see it come back it had to make sense financially that meant a starting price of under $330,000 and to achieve this they'd have to count out the technology that helped make the 300 ZX such a strong performer the next Z would have to be a simple honest sports car it would also have to share its underpinnings and Mechanicals with with other products in order to keep development cost down and with that the Z project went from a skunk work styling exercise to a company backed effort now Nissan had to decide on what direction it wanted to steer the project in the question was whether it would go retro or take on a more modern look Jud from what they'd already shown the public it seemed as if they were all in on the former they soured on this approach for a few reasons as told in Nissan 350Z resurrection of a legend sales for retro design start out strong at the gates but nose dive once the luster wears off there was also a desire to create a machine for the 2000s much like how the 240sz was designed for the' 70s and the 300 ZX was made for the '90s hburg was outspoken in his opposition to going retro so it was decided that the new Z Would embody the 240Z in spirit but stand on its own legs in terms of design Nissan launched an international design competition after the Detroit Auto Show concluded IND would be pitted against the company studios in Europe and Japan these early sketches reveal the direction that designers were leaning in early on the L Hood short deck layout was given but there's also a mix of convex and concave surfaces the body work up top is scooped out while the portion under the bone line flares out as a contrast this is often accompanied by a side skirt that either catches additional light or creates a dynamic Shadow some sketches also feature wide prominent wheel arches instead of being pinched out like on the 1999 concept they stretch out in all the corners suggesting power and stability these ideas were further developed in the early modeling phase nda's proposals varied considerably in terms of surfacing Model A pushes the relationship between convex and concave surfaces to the Limit many of these interactions are driven through the front forks they cause a bit of drama in this area of the car an attempt at continuity is made with the rest of the body as well they initiate the main crease in the body sliding underneath the thin headlights and slithering just below the greenhouse before exploding into powerful rear hunches the shoulders are further emphasized by the abbreviated window shape model B looks downright tame in comparison there aren't nearly as many surface Transitions and it also appears to have more conventional proportions for as different as they are the two cars do share one element a secondary Grill while this idea didn't last long it's interesting to see how they were willing to experiment with the Z ethos model C lands somewhere in the middle with pronounced rear hunches and understated surfacing designer Diane Allen led the charge on this full-size clay model some of the pieces up front are already in place namely the vertical headlights thin intake and vertical flinking elements the wheel arches are also pulled out quite a bit and the blinkers are being used as a styling element the Japanese Studio tended to favor simpler soft s designs early on with more frontward cabins various glass and pillar treatments were also explored a few of them had floating roofs with darkened a pillars and acute window angles the rear screens also curv onto the profile at times helping to create a more open Greenhouse the home studio also produced this full-size model in 1999 it appears to sit very low to the ground this effect is Amplified thanks in no small part to the angled Belt Line it cuts into the body reducing the mass of the sheet metal and increasing the amount of Glass on the car its steeply ranked front screen floating roof and arched back also lower its visual weight the European site no doubt submitted the most unusual design its glass treatment is the most distinguishing feature the front screen curves heavily onto the profile the front of the Side Glass also flows directly against it creating an odd a pillar some of the more defined edges clash with each organic shapes both the front and rear appear to come to a point and that's to say nothing about the lighting units exhaust tips and a cute window Edge soon after this model was presented the European Studio was taken off the project and assigned to other endeavors on January 5th 2000 the proposals were trimmed down to six two of them came from NDA while the other four were from Nissan to Japanese Studio the latter quartet were executed quite differently from each other though they still had a few similarities three of them had some version of a floating roof they all also had vertical headlights and three of them had vertical tail lights their rear screens also just barely curv onto the profile if at all some attempts were made to obscure the door handles model C is the only one that doesn't and even then it's going with the character line the two American proposals are distinguished through their orange auxiliary lighting units ful length light bars and a strange lack of side mirrors a bit of attention is called to their door handles this model features a cutout just under the body roll that adds another concave surface to the sheet metal it was definitely a strong effort but many at NDA took a liking to this one it is defined by Stark geomet metric forms in the lighting units greenhouse and lower front intake A J puncha the main creative force behind this proposal was asked what inspired the tail lights in lust then love the story of the new Z he said that's a tough one sometimes you just do stuff he then stated that he wanted them to be locked in the design so they didn't seem like an afterthought he wanted to make them look intentional a large concave form spans the length of the car this is contrasted by a large ornate door handle that projects outward hallw said that it was also intended to serve as an invitation of sorts and impart a sens ofic its wheel arches are pronounced like some of the other proposals that we've had a look at but surprisingly they're not as emphasized as on some of the Japanese models Puna felt like he belonged here he earned his degree in automotive design from centry University and was set to continue his studies at the Royal College of Art under the stewardship of Ford that would have to wait he won the transportation design category in a Royal Society of Arts contest and the prize was a trip to a place of his choosing Puna traveled to Southern California so that he could visit the Design Studios that dotted the region Nissan design America was the second stop in his tour once he got there he didn't want to leave the fair weather great people and relaxed environment appealed to him he could also move up quickly provided that he put in the work Puna may have had prior arrangements in London but now he was going to do whatever it took to stay in La Hoya he secured an interview and landed the job that very same day that was in 1996 Just 4 years later at the age of 30 he was helping spearhead a new zcar the Nissan EX Executives trimmed the six proposals down to two pun chalis design was chosen along with one from the Japanese Studio both sides were now charged with finalizing their cars and sending full-size models for final evaluation ind's car was an evolution of the previous proposal the lighting Arrangements have been tidied up and the full length bar at the rear has been removed also take note of the glass angle at the rear it cut straight down after getting to the start of the wheel well this creates a unique pillar treatment that we have yet to see thus far lastly the lower front clip has also been restyled the thin long opening has been replaced with a set of intakes in either side the Japanese proposal is a bit curvier in the wheel arches as well as the general surfacing it appears to take most of its inspiration from proposal D issuing the darkened front pillars and adopting an acute rear window Edge twin intakes appear here as well though they're smaller and More in line with the headlights the stakes were Sky High for NDA many Nissan Executives were in attendance including design Chief Shido nakamuta and Company president Carlos gone there was nothing to worry about though the directors picked their model in a landslide vote resurrection of Legend states that quote there were about 13 or 14 managers and all but maybe one voted for it as much of an achievement as this was their work was far from over getting the design production ready would provide its own set of challenges said challenges would have to be taken on without Jerry hburg he retired from his post as president of Nissan design America in June of 2000 the company actually wanted to name him its worldwide director of design but he instead relinquished his position Tom simple took over for him as president president while Shido nakamuta became the global head of design engineering Personnel had been involved in the process since the very beginning but now they had to make some tough decisions one such Choice was whether the Z should have a hatchback or trunk zc cars have traditionally used the former but with how much the new one was set to diverge from the norm it wouldn't be surprising if the cargo area followed suit going with a hatchback design would have compromised the car's rigidity and due to their aggressive price Target they would be limited in how they could make that difference up it was deemed impossible early on but some on the team pushed for another solution this came in the form of a massive brace in the rear while it did allow them to move forward with the hatch it also stole a fair bit of cargo room a while ago we mentioned that the Z would have to ass some of its Mechanicals with other models its FM or front midship platform was would underpin a host of other cars including the Infiniti G35 sedan and coupe the Z also used a version of Nissan's VQ engine in this application it had a displacement of 3.5 L as well as 287 horsepower and 274 PBT of torque a streamlined development process and aggressive part sharing helped the car decimate its cost Target the 350Z launched with a starting price of $26 $269 Nissan unveiled the 350Z concept at the 2001 Detroit Auto Show there are several differences between the models that came before it as well as the final production car pall's original proposal used a thin intake up front with a tooth in the middle while India's model used twin intakes the 2001 show car had one large Grill Puna said that this change was made to better cool the engine but I also suspect that the development of its platform sibling also played a part the Infiniti G35 coupe was also going to use the twin intake design so the 350Z was probably changed to differentiate them criticism directed at the size of the concept's opening motivated Nissan to tone it down on the production car its sharp angles have also been soften a it mainly in the headlights and tail lights Nissan made changes to the back as well the concept featured centrally Place exhaust tips as well as small turn signals that are broken off from the main lights the production model splits the pipes apart and enlarges the blinkers lastly the eye-catching door handles remain though there are not any Loop style fashion like the concept it doesn't play off the concave section nearly as well but this was probably a necessary compromise in the face of the strict price requirements [Music] the road car was shown early in 2002 and by July published reviews began to trickle out Automobile Magazine founded an eager and willing performer though testers did find that it under steered at the beer limits and left something to be desired in the middle of the Power Band regardless it proved to be a screaming barket for the money writer Joe deasio even went as far as to call it the Japanese Corvette due to its driving characteristics and low price Car and Driver echoed these sentiments but lamented its underwhelming engine note the interior was also a mixed bag the placement of the steering wheel IP and shifter earned favor with staff members conversely the premium metallic details were undercut by the extensive use of black plastic the brace in the hatch area earned a bit of their ire as well placing large items inside became an ordeal rearward visibility was likely to be compromised depending on the size of the cargo still the 350Z thoroughly impressed them and they declared that it was in a class all by itself the z may have been a strong offering in its own right but it was far from the only one on the market sports cars were experiencing something of a Renaissance after Hanging On by a threat in the '90s in 2003 Car and Driver set the convertible up against a collection of open top Cruisers Honda's S2000 was in the vein of a traditional Roadster this meant raw Thrills minimal Creature Comforts and a curb weight of just 2800 lb prestigious German makes also had a showing here BMW introduced the Z4 the previous year and this one was equipped with a 231 horsepower 3 L engine sixspeed manual and loveed or hat it styling the boxer porous crack at a lower cost Sport sports car was an Enthusiast favorite despite being deep into its product cycle lastly the Audi TT would attempt to W the testers with its Avent guard styling and speaking of last the front-wheel drive based convertible simply couldn't stack up with the others in terms of driving Dynamics one staff member summed up its showing by saying we can't go high for a cutie that doesn't dance BMW Z was achingly close to Greatness with its Heavenly shifter and effortless pull in power it was undone by Twitchy unintuitive steering rough ride quality and a surprising lack of attention to detail let the Porsche down in the end coming in second was the Z it had a strong showing but its awkward seating position and pitiful top up rearward visibility kept it from topping the competition that left the S2000 the barebones convertible just provided a more visceral experience than the others just take a look at some of the colorful language that writer Patrick B used to describe it motor Tren ran a test of its own in February of 2004 a new Challenger was ped against the Nissan and Honda the Mazda RX8 was a radical departure from its predecessor though what set of the part from the competition also gave it its identity the rear hinged freestyle doors provided increased practicality and there isn't anything quite like a rotary engine coming in third place was the Honda the car actually received an update that dled its Edge just a bit in their eyes the Z was up next despite having significantly more power than the others Motor Trend doctored a few points for the cargo bay weight concerns and a less than Stellar engine note the rxc overcame its fuel economy and Emissions concerns to Come Away with the victory despite being outgunned by the others on paper it proved to be much more than the sum of its parts our last comparison test features a few famili faces in the MOs and Audi but also includes a Mustang Shelby GT its significant power Advantage couldn't save it from a last place finish its handling and build quality weren't up to Snuff the article stated that the vibrations were so harsh on a rough road that the hood Clips became undone this became even more damning when its $39,000 price tag was taken into account the Z wasn't much further ahead meaning that once again it failed to win a round of in some ways the car's introduction mirrored that of the 240Z it offered strong performance for the money and was uniquely positioned in the market the difference was and how mature the competition was its platform siblings in the Infiniti G35 sedan and Coupe were also highly acclaimed the ladder broke cover at the 2002 New York Auto Show this was more than a mirror Z skin it essentially replaced the 2x2 variant that had been a stable in the Z lineup for decades this was probably a change for the better in terms of Market positioning and pure Aesthetics due to the added weight and length the car is naturally tuck on a softer more comfortable Dynamic these traits were a bit out of character for the Z and More in line with the upscale Infinity brand 2x2 Z cars have also appeared a bit Ely when compared to the two seits the infiniti's wheel base is nearly 8 in Long than the Z and it's also 12 1/2 in longer in overall length yet the car doesn't look any worse for wear the G35 coupe also features a conventional trunk rather than a hatchback the brace remains in place despite the change though it lies deep in the storage area where it's unlikely to interfere with cargo loading one might expect for the car to command a premium over the Z due to its batch and Market positioning while the G35 coupe also had a starting price of under $30,000 there's actually a bit more separation between the cars than you might think that price is for a base model equipped with an automatic if a buyer wanted a manual then they'd have to Pony up about $32,000 compare this to the base model 350Z which was only available with a stick and Nissan strategy becomes clear enthusiasts no doubt would have preferred a stick shift Z while G35 coup buyers were typically content with the automatic the company knew it could charge a premium to those who wanted to row their own Gears in the ladder both the sedan and Coupe were warmly received by the North American motoring press the lineup even took home Motor Trend Car of the Year award it was also sold in Japan though not as the Infiniti G35 but as the Nissan Skyline the 350Z launched with five trim levels and we've already talked about the base model a bit Above This was the enthus Enthusiast model at a bit over $288,000 it added among other things a traction control system an LSD Xenon headlights and aluminum pedals the $30,000 performance trim included a VDC system tire pressure monitor and 18-in wheels at $33,000 the Turing model added luxuries like a Bose stereo system power adjustable heated leather seats and heated mirrors lastly the track came with front and rear spoilers a rear under body the future rais forged alloy wheels and brimo brakes at $34,900 3 Engineers needed to Grapple with the coup's rigidity issues and chopping the top off could have potentially resulted in more problems Nissan made some of the sub by reinforcing the door openings as well as adding a triple member that connected the sides to the the floor structure 2005 saw the release of the 35th Anniversary Edition at $ 36,6 60 it was the most expensive zc car in the range both it and the track model got a slight bump to 300 horsepower but suffered a minor torque reduction to 260 lb feet the Rev range was also extended from 6600 RPM to 7,000 RPM yet another update came the following year the 2006 model featured a tweaked front end the refresh also added by Xenon headlights LED tail lights and a new speed sensitive power steering system a new Grand Touring trim added staggered 18 to 19in Wheels brimo brakes front inter rear spoilers and VDC lastly all manual transmission cars received the 300 horsepower bump the last major development came for the 2007 model year a new version of the VQ the V EQ 35 HR brought figures up to 306 horsepower and 268 LBT of torque a new high performance Nismo model was also added although it didn't have any extra power it did include items that improved its handling and downforce and it isn't exactly subtle either the resty front end was intended to resemble that of the Super GT 350Z the side skirts spoiler rear diffuser and beefy exhaust ports are also dead giveaways according to a 2008 Super Street piece the cars are pulled from the assembly line and sent to ACH for chassis reinforcement and Stitch welding in addition to this the Nismo 350z featured bmbo brakes and a retuned suspension developed in collaboration with Yamaha according to an article by auto.com it had a base price of over $38,000 sources vary a bit on the final production numbers but Nissan ended up building just over 1,600 examples 2008 the car's last year on the market didn't see any significant updates the Nissan 350Z successfully brought the Z lineage back from the grave and it did so by going in its own Direction its time in the market had come to an end though its successor was right around the corner and it would iterate on its winning formula of design affordability and performance

2023-11-19 17:12

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