 Well it's an exciting time for us Z loyalists at the moment with the imminent release of what is expected to be called the 350Z not too far away. For a while there it looked as though we
might have seen the last of the legendery Z series of sports cars from Nissan with the demise of the 300ZX in 1996. Fortunately this hasn't proven to be the case, thanks in part to Renault who have taken a controlling
stake in the company. Renault could see the importance of having something special at the top of the range to bolster the corporate image of the Nissan brand, hence the all new 2002 Z! Shown recently in concept form at the
Detroit Motor Show this car promises to reignite the flagging Nissan image.
Combining a mix of modern and retro design elements with cues from cars
such as the Audi TT and Honda's S2000 as well as drawing on the Z's own lineage, Nissan have come up with what can only be described as a bold and adventurous concept. While polarizing opinion, it is a shape that will likely grow on
you with time and should continue to look good for many years to come.
Backing up it's sporting pretentions with a VQ based 3.5 litre V6 engine boasting something in the vicinity of 260bhp, performance should be brisk with 0 to 60mph figures expected to be in the sub 6 second range.
If the next Z hasn't already got the opposition feeling a little uneasy then I'm sure the cost of purchasing one of these babies will. With an intended launch price of about $30,000USD when it finally arrives in 2002, it couldn't possibly fail to be a success!
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