New Nissan Z: The Z Proto Will Be Revealed in Two Weeks

The Nissan Z, a legendary sports coupe dating back to the days of the Datsun 240Z, will be getting a new prototype in two weeks.

Nissan had a few of its current models show up on the list of slowest-selling new cars in 2020, which we wrote about yesterday.

Although Nissan is still a step above the moribund Mitsubishi, there’s no question that the Japanese automaker’s options have become a bit stale in the past few years.

Nissan isn’t simply sitting around waiting for an uptick in the car market, though.

The current-generation Z, the Nissan 370Z, has had periodic updates since it was first released in late 2008. It’s a 12-year-old platform at this point, so it’s long due for an update.

Enter the Z Proto, which is what Nissan is calling its new Z prototype. The Nissan Twitter account released a teaser trailer today that leans heavily on the Z’s racing heritage.

Watch the video to the end and see the shadowy outline of the prototype.

From our vantage point, the Z Proto is sporting some smooth curves that evoke a Subaru BRZ, Kia Stinger, Mazda Miata, or even a Jaguar F-Type. The elongated oblong headlight is clearly visible in the image, although the rest is pretty well obscured.

Andrew Collins at Jalopnik ran down some of the features he’d most like to see on the Z Proto. Topping the list – and we are in full agreement – are manual transmission, rear-wheel drive, and a limited-slip differential. The wishlist also included a turbocharged inline-six engine making 400 horsepower, which would represent an improvement over the 350 horsepower currently offered by a stock Nismo 370Z.

And, of course, T-tops.

Unfortunately, even when the Z Proto is unveiled, it likely will be some time before we see the next-gen Nissan Z on the road. Nonetheless, we’ll be watching when Nissan unveils the Z Proto on September 15.