FiestaST
Honorary Master
Opinion: the Nissan Z is a disappointment dressed in a manual gearbox and V6 disguise
The new Zed Car/Zee Car stands out. But we were expecting more, sooner
Pssst! Let me let you into a bit of a secret – I saw the new Nissan Z nearly two years ago.
‘Who cares?’, you’re probably thinking. 'The whole world has now seen Nissan’s throwback rear-wheel-drive, twin-turbocharged 400bhp two-door coupe with a manual transmission'. But I’ve had to keep it – and my overriding disappointment – under my hat. Until now.
My secret meeting was before the 2019 Tokyo motor show, where Nissan's PR representatives shuffled us onto a bus without telling us where we were going or what we were doing. After a few dizzying laps of the expressway, we were spat out at Nissan’s design headquarters in Atsugi-shi, Kanagawa.
With our phone cameras covered and our mouths contractually zipped shut, Alfonso Albaisa – Nissan’s design chief – passionately gave us a rundown of Nissan’s future design plans and how his Cuban-American background and love for Japanese culture would dictate what they look like. We were then taken outside and saw a crystal ball of Nissan’s future portfolio. Cars we’ve now seen (Ariya, Qashqai, Patrol) and some we haven’t. But there was also the Z, standing out like a sore, slightly rehashed thumb.
I was immediately conflicted. Yes, in a wave of electric powertrains it was good news for fans of naturally aspirated engines and manuals. People like us. But after so much fanfare and expectation, I was ready for more.
Nissan had been campaigning a lot about e-POWER and its EV future, so I was braced and excited to see a radical new Z. But it didn't arrive. What we got was the old 350Z formula in some faded retro lipstick and cheap make-up. After all these years of hype, the new one isn't radical at all. It's a similar shape (one our brain now defaults to the more appealing Jaguar F-Type) as the past. And there's nothing truly new.
www.topgear.com
The new Zed Car/Zee Car stands out. But we were expecting more, sooner
Pssst! Let me let you into a bit of a secret – I saw the new Nissan Z nearly two years ago.
‘Who cares?’, you’re probably thinking. 'The whole world has now seen Nissan’s throwback rear-wheel-drive, twin-turbocharged 400bhp two-door coupe with a manual transmission'. But I’ve had to keep it – and my overriding disappointment – under my hat. Until now.
My secret meeting was before the 2019 Tokyo motor show, where Nissan's PR representatives shuffled us onto a bus without telling us where we were going or what we were doing. After a few dizzying laps of the expressway, we were spat out at Nissan’s design headquarters in Atsugi-shi, Kanagawa.
With our phone cameras covered and our mouths contractually zipped shut, Alfonso Albaisa – Nissan’s design chief – passionately gave us a rundown of Nissan’s future design plans and how his Cuban-American background and love for Japanese culture would dictate what they look like. We were then taken outside and saw a crystal ball of Nissan’s future portfolio. Cars we’ve now seen (Ariya, Qashqai, Patrol) and some we haven’t. But there was also the Z, standing out like a sore, slightly rehashed thumb.
I was immediately conflicted. Yes, in a wave of electric powertrains it was good news for fans of naturally aspirated engines and manuals. People like us. But after so much fanfare and expectation, I was ready for more.
Nissan had been campaigning a lot about e-POWER and its EV future, so I was braced and excited to see a radical new Z. But it didn't arrive. What we got was the old 350Z formula in some faded retro lipstick and cheap make-up. After all these years of hype, the new one isn't radical at all. It's a similar shape (one our brain now defaults to the more appealing Jaguar F-Type) as the past. And there's nothing truly new.
Opinion: the Nissan Z is a disappointment dressed in a manual gearbox and V6 disguise
The new Zed Car/Zee Car stands out. But we were expecting more, sooner
