Our Thoughts on the New Z
All you need to know about this new Nissan 350Z is that when it comes to its price-and-performance quotient, it is a re-creation of the segment-busting Datsun 240Z that set the sports-car world on its ear in 1970.
On the one hand, they could spend less than $4000 and select from an assortment of Fiats, MGs, Opels, Triumphs, and the Porsche 914/4, all of which had about 100 horsepower and not adequate efficiency to keep up with a Chevy Impala that didn't understand it was racing. The 240Z, which came with a 150-hp, 2.4-liter in-line 6 and a rate of $3601, neatly divided the distinction and developed a brand-new category all its own.
For a couple more grand, there's the similarly powerful Toyota MR2. If you want serious grunt-- over 250 horse power these days-- in a true sports automobile, you have to step up to the $42,420 Corvette.
The brand-new Nissan 350Z totally fractures this horsepower hierarchy. With a base price of $26,809, the resurrected Z-car costs hardly 10 percent more than a Mister Two, yet it has more than double that little Toyota's power. The 350Z's total of 287 horsepower is just a few ponies shy of what is provided in a Porsche 911 that costs two and half times as much as the Nissan.
Even the state-of-the-art Track model tested here-- with its front and rear spoilers (getting rid of rear and front lift and cutting the drag coefficient from 0.30 to 0.29), Rays Engineering forged-aluminum 18-inch wheels (saving a total of practically 18 pounds of unsprung weight), Brembo brakes, viscous limited-slip differential, aluminum pedals, and raft of nonperformance upgrades-- chooses just $34,619, $7810 more than a base Z.
This amazing deal is possible due to the fact that the Z employs mass-produced parts from Nissan's parts bins. The Z's V-6, for example, is the common 3.5-liter, 24-valve, quad-cam system that sees task in everything from the Altima to the Infiniti QX4 sport-utility. For use in the Z-car, Nissan engineers have actually retuned this engine with somewhat hotter camshafts and freer-flowing intake and exhaust systems. The resulting 287 horsepower at 6200 rpm is about 10 percent more than the Infiniti G35 engine musters.
This engine resides in the nose of a variation of Nissan's FM platform that was recently introduced in the G35. The designation "FM" means "front mid-engine" and means that the engine sits totally behind the center line of the front wheels, providing decent weight distribution. For use with the Z-car, this platform has had about eight inches sliced out of its wheelbase, which at 104.3 inches is still on the long side, about the same as a Corvette's.
As you 'd expect from a new design, the FM framework utilizes a sophisticated independent suspension with multilink geometry front and rear. Except for the rear diagonal links, all the suspension components, consisting of the rubber-isolated rear subframe, are made of created aluminum. The FM platform likewise consists of rack-and-pinion steering, anti-lock brakes, and on this Track model, electronic stability control integrating a welcome "off" switch. Compared with the G35 application of this framework, the ride height is set lower for the Z, with more unfavorable camber all around.
How does this noise: 0 to 60 miles per hour in 5.4 seconds and through the quarter-mile in 14.1 seconds at 101 miles per hour? How about 0.88 g of cornering stick, a stopping range from 70 miles per hour to standstill in 164 feet, and a leading speed of 156 mph?
Not just is the Z swift in a straight line and around corners, however it is easily so. With a generous 3498cc under its hood and well-chosen ratios in the six-speed gearbox, healthy drive is always simply a twitch of your foot or a flick of your wrist away. There ares lots of poke in sixth equipment, which drops engine revs easily on the highway. Both the 50-to-70-mph and 30-to-50-mph top-gear acceleration times have to do with 9 seconds, suggesting excellent flexibility.
On the one hand, they could spend less than $4000 and select from an assortment of Fiats, MGs, Opels, Triumphs, and the Porsche 914/4, all of which had about 100 horsepower and not adequate efficiency to keep up with a Chevy Impala that didn't understand it was racing. The 240Z, which came with a 150-hp, 2.4-liter in-line 6 and a rate of $3601, neatly divided the distinction and developed a brand-new category all its own.
For a couple more grand, there's the similarly powerful Toyota MR2. If you want serious grunt-- over 250 horse power these days-- in a true sports automobile, you have to step up to the $42,420 Corvette.
The brand-new Nissan 350Z totally fractures this horsepower hierarchy. With a base price of $26,809, the resurrected Z-car costs hardly 10 percent more than a Mister Two, yet it has more than double that little Toyota's power. The 350Z's total of 287 horsepower is just a few ponies shy of what is provided in a Porsche 911 that costs two and half times as much as the Nissan.
Even the state-of-the-art Track model tested here-- with its front and rear spoilers (getting rid of rear and front lift and cutting the drag coefficient from 0.30 to 0.29), Rays Engineering forged-aluminum 18-inch wheels (saving a total of practically 18 pounds of unsprung weight), Brembo brakes, viscous limited-slip differential, aluminum pedals, and raft of nonperformance upgrades-- chooses just $34,619, $7810 more than a base Z.
This amazing deal is possible due to the fact that the Z employs mass-produced parts from Nissan's parts bins. The Z's V-6, for example, is the common 3.5-liter, 24-valve, quad-cam system that sees task in everything from the Altima to the Infiniti QX4 sport-utility. For use in the Z-car, Nissan engineers have actually retuned this engine with somewhat hotter camshafts and freer-flowing intake and exhaust systems. The resulting 287 horsepower at 6200 rpm is about 10 percent more than the Infiniti G35 engine musters.
This engine resides in the nose of a variation of Nissan's FM platform that was recently introduced in the G35. The designation "FM" means "front mid-engine" and means that the engine sits totally behind the center line of the front wheels, providing decent weight distribution. For use with the Z-car, this platform has had about eight inches sliced out of its wheelbase, which at 104.3 inches is still on the long side, about the same as a Corvette's.
As you 'd expect from a new design, the FM framework utilizes a sophisticated independent suspension with multilink geometry front and rear. Except for the rear diagonal links, all the suspension components, consisting of the rubber-isolated rear subframe, are made of created aluminum. The FM platform likewise consists of rack-and-pinion steering, anti-lock brakes, and on this Track model, electronic stability control integrating a welcome "off" switch. Compared with the G35 application of this framework, the ride height is set lower for the Z, with more unfavorable camber all around.
How does this noise: 0 to 60 miles per hour in 5.4 seconds and through the quarter-mile in 14.1 seconds at 101 miles per hour? How about 0.88 g of cornering stick, a stopping range from 70 miles per hour to standstill in 164 feet, and a leading speed of 156 mph?
Not just is the Z swift in a straight line and around corners, however it is easily so. With a generous 3498cc under its hood and well-chosen ratios in the six-speed gearbox, healthy drive is always simply a twitch of your foot or a flick of your wrist away. There ares lots of poke in sixth equipment, which drops engine revs easily on the highway. Both the 50-to-70-mph and 30-to-50-mph top-gear acceleration times have to do with 9 seconds, suggesting excellent flexibility.