Lol, totally true. A Prius is my other car. I like the idea of turbo for improving performance, but not at the expense of reducing the size of the engine and then try to make up for lack of displacement.

Sure majority of the buyers are after fuel economy but a 4 cylinder and turbo with similar spec will most likely get just as bad fuel economy as the V6. Look at the Evo and STi, I don't think reducing the engine size and add a turbo helped with MPG. I don't the the buyers cared either, if they did, they would have gotten the non turbo version Lancer or Impreza.

I highly doubt a 4 cyl will be installed. I vote a smaller displacement V6 with twin turbos. Possibly a VR30DETT or VQ30HRTT? Nissan has all of the components between the 350Z HR, 370Z and the GT-R to make an interesting, lightweight and powerful engine package.

this man knows whats up! :tup:

Whatever they do I just hope they make sure it's a better power to weight ratio than the current 370z. If they can do what the BMW M5 did I would be pretty happy.
But perhaps like Dustin said, a small 6 cylinder rather than a big 6. The car could def use some weigh lose. Nissan does worry me though when they want the next Z to widen up the customer base: meaning they are looking to make the car more practical with a 4 seater. I'm not a big fan of that at all because that's what the G37 is for.

Is it true that they may not make a new GT-R? I think Nissan at this point has not given any green light for R&D to start the development nor is it in the plan. They said they are putting more emphasis on this next Z.

It seems to me they will be retrying the Z32 formula without selling out 240z roots. which may be interesting??? As long as v6/v6tt options are avail

That means they would offer both 2 and 4 seater versions. Infiniti already said 2 years ago that they will be swaying away from the fairlady and skyline kinship. They will be two separate cars altogether in the future.

My main concern... with the yen and dollar going in two different directions, AGAIN!!! we better buy the Z35 in the first two years. Otherwise, we may see a $20,000 jump over 6 years just like the Z32. Sometimes I think these economic destabilizations are rigged purposely between gov'ts and corporations.

The GT-R... I think it will be a JDM only car again after 2014.

You really cannot compare the Z32 to any other Z to be honest. The engineers and design team for the Z32 were essentially given a blank check and set loose on designing it. This has been attributed to one of the reasons that nearly bankrupted Nissan back in the mid-90's. The level of engineering, expense and thought put into the Z32 BACK THEN is comparable to what they put into the GT-R today.

I pray that they do not revive the 2+2 body style. Although it looks good on the Z32 with the longer overall body shape. I have never liked it for ANY model car.....Camaro, Z, etc.

The GT-R is Ghosn baby...it will remain the flagship model and will probably keep being sold globally. It has done to well in the US.

:iagree: I couldn't agree more. The z32 really was a technical marvel back then... and I still think it's one sexy looking machine.

Also with all the success the GT-R has had in the world of motorsports, I don't see why they would kill it off.

I'm not technologically comparing it to the Z32 :confused:

What im saying is... i think they will probably serve up multiple versions to appease the general public like the Z32. There were 2+2, 2 seater, hardtop, t-top,convertible, naturally aspirated, turbo, manual and automatic versions.

I'm sure this would kill nissan again. but if they keep it in the same area they are in now in options and just throw in the turbo or na and possibly make a 2+2 car without directly competeing with porsche and ferrari in quality and technology as they did in 1989 for $35000 less. I can see them going aesthetically the Z32 route without the blank check budget... Remember, they did say they want to simplify the Z. Reduced weight means less materials, simplified, more compact lightweight optional stereos and nav systems. probably following juke,altima,versa nav trends vs infiniti could possibly save them $500 a unit or more? Making it lightweight with two different engines eliminates the need for designing and building another rwd, cheaper FRS killer, while the optional turbo engine can be a mustang competitor. Convertible Z's are a waste of money and should be eliminated from the spectrum. At least till a 2019 refresh.

While no comparisons to the Z32 are being made, a shortened version of there extensive model and feature line-up may be fiscally wise considering they have such a hard time fitting the Z into one market???? Of course, all exclusivity whores will be disappointed.

Imho... compared to my old FD. the Z32 looks dated while the FD looks viable till this day.

meh.. the FD is sexy,but I think the Z32... is still.. super sexy

Nissan design chief hints at return of Silvia or lightweight Fairlady Z | Japanese Nostalgic Car

What do you guys think? I see a correlation for a new light-weight sporty car under the Z

Nissan design chief hints at return of Silvia or lightweight Fairlady Z | Japanese Nostalgic Car

What do you guys think? I see a correlation for a new light-weight sporty car under the Z. If anything, it probably will be a lower displacement engine, and to keep the power up ----> Turbo.


Isn't there a mandate in the US for manufacturers to bump up efficiency in by 2016?

U.S. Orders Stricter Fuel Goals for Autos - WSJ.com

SUV's,pickups, and large displacement sedans make up the commercial fuel concerns. not sports cars. look at it like this...
nissan would have to focus on the pathfinder,armada, exterra, rogue, maxima and altima to really make a difference to cafe.
Combined they will sell about 2.5 million or more vehicles there in a genration stretch... while the 2 flagship and halo sports cars will sell maybe 60,000 units over a generation. It's a luxury for sports cars to have great fuel economy and isnt stressed due to low volume sales.

The Silvia was srcapped and is not coming to nissan. If nissan goes along with the datsun release as highly speculated? Then possibly will we see a silvia? but till you here the words. "new datsun dealers coming to america?" fuhggetaboutit!!!

watever happened to the silvia? i thought i saw some renderings of next gen in BestCar magazines several yrs ago and dissappeared.

Datsun isn't coming to the US. It was only brought back to sell cheap cars in emerging markets.

its the Z32's weird azz back window that really began urking me by year 2002.

Big fan of both, but the FD def had and still has one of the sexiest bodies. The Z32, being the first car designed using CAD, looks a bit engineered, instead of sculpted if that makes any sense.

Which is STUPID! Datsun should be brought back and be targeted directly against the Scion and youth oriented brands. Not a Wal-Mart sell out. :shakes head:

makes perfect sense. to me the 300zx was an optimized acura in style while the styling of the fd was ferrari-esque. the z32 wasn't ugly back then... but the fd, and vr4 did have more exotic looking externals... its reversed now... the z is the most modern looking of the affordable cars.

:iagree: I was sad when I read that Datsun wouldn't see the US shores

The silvia's engine went into the juke on a new transmission and drivetrain while the silvia car was scrapped due to the altima coupe possibly losing its foothold. The silvia would have been priced directly against the all new altima coupe with the fwd disadvantage against rwd on the silvia. i think the next gen altima coupe might be a 1.6 turbo awd car???

They should just get rid of the Altima coupe and build the Silvia. With the new one looking more like the Maxima, a new Altima coupe will probabaly look more like a two door Maxima. The mini-Z idea just sounds silly.

Just curious, anybody care to share the dimensions of the original 240Z?

google "240z dimensions"

first result ;)

Always works. Google is magically magical.

Just guessing and grasping on available information... but my gut tells me the new Z may be straight inline 6, smaller compression with turbo option. They can still drop a couple hundred pounds, granted they will drop some HP but gain torque, making it a wash with the 370 but faster acceleration. This also goes back to the 240 original 6 inline straight.

What ya guys think? It's kind of an in-between, but they can probably price it low to mid 30's base, and mid 40's to 50 with turbo.

Base model would be spanking any turbo 4 popper, and put it within reach of equivalent sport v6's for less than 10-50k.

I got a plan. Let's wait till we see what it ends up being. Then we can discuss.

Thank you. I'm here seven days a week

What makes you think Nissan will do a straight 6?

I for one hope they dont offer more than one engine. That makes things that much harder to find parts for later on. Also no 2+2. Thats a waste because everyone knows that the back seats are useless.

How about we do both...

I'd also like only one (good) engine choice. Lack of an "affordable" offering makes things a little more exclusive. I dont need to see a Z in every household, see mustang.

:icon18:

But Nissan is going to do whatever the person who argues the most says they're gonna do! :mad:


:roflpuke2:

Funny guys :icon17:

Now that I have time to look it up, thought the stats of 2 sportscars back in the day, might be interesting.

1969 240Z Stats:
Wheelbase 90.7"
Length 163"
Width 64"
Height 50.5"
Weight 2,302 lbs
161 hp, 146 tq

1969 Corvette
Wheelbase 98"
Length 182.5"
Width 69"
Height 47.8"
Weight 3,091
300 hp, 380 tq

The Iconic 1969, 240Z was a small, light and relatively underpowered car. Yet it became a car everyone loved. Just food for thought.

why I am disappointed with the FRS:

Length 166.7 inches
Width 66.9 inches
Height 51.2 inches (excluding antenna base)
Wheelbase 101.2 inches
Track (Front) 59.8 inches
Track (Rear) 6.6 inches
CURB WEIGHT 2737 lb
Maximum output 200hp @ 7,000 rpm
Maximum torque 151 lb.-ft. @ 6,600 rpm

Only 6 more ft lbs of torque

The classic Z was iconic because it was a simple, no nonsense sports car. light, with enough power to keep you happy. In 1969 161 hp was a lot, especially with that weight.

I agree. Simplicity has a beauty all of it's own.

The 240 was awesome, but pretty slow by today's standards. They also didn't have to deal with all the safety requirements and crash test ratings. If you compare the two, the 240 might as well be made of tin foil. I wouldn't mind the z being lighter, but I don't want it looking as small as a miata either.

You do realize the 240z didn't actually have 161hp right? The way horsepower was measured back in the 70's is not the same way we measure it today. Back then they did gross hp or basically hp measured at the crank with no accessories hooked up and the motor on a stand (not in the car). By todays standards the 240z has closer to 120hp. So comparing it to todays FRS isn't a fair standard. The track times clearly display this considering the 240z was anywhere from a 16.1-17.4 1/4 mile car depending on the magazine you look at. The FRS/BRZ is what, a high 14 sec car? It would eat a 240z for lunch in just about any event.

Thats not to say a 240z can't be competitive for really cheap, because it can but as someone already mentioned the safety on the 240z is horrendous. In the 70's their idea of increasing safety when they switched to the 280z was putting in a single steal beam in the door to help with side crash ratings. I love my 280z and daily drove it for years but I'm glad it's now just a weekend cruiser. Still, with very little money in mods and still non-turbo it will show a FRS a hard time in just about everything but top speed.

O good point :tiphat:
I'm not directly comparing them, more so it's interesting to note that in 40 years of technology advancement and you get the FRS which today is closest thing to the formula that the original Z was base on. Miata is a roadster so i didn't consider it.

True, but still I find it pretty amazing that cars can be sort-of lightweight and "kinda" have power... and still be safe.

I know how it feels though, kinda disappointed in the low HP.. affordable, safe, and has UMPH is what we all want.

I think we'll push past the 200HP affordable sports car within 5 years.

Manufacturers are still testing the waters to see if this segment will be profitable... think of the wonderful S2000 it was killed off because it didn't sell enough.

Because the FRS is selling like hotcakes, the manufacturers see the need to sell "affordable" sporty cars to compete.

If the FRS fails, there won't be many manufacturers following Toyota's footsteps.

If the FRS sells, everyone follows and competes in the segment :)

It's nearly impossible to build it cheap, safe, lightweight and have the same characteristics of a modern sports car.

I guess my point is, to achieve everything we want in a sports car, we need to use more exotic materials like carbon fiber, which has gotten a lot less expensive to produce. I read somewhere that the new Mclaren MP4-12c cost a 1/4 or a 1/3 to produce than the F1 because of new techniques. Lets hope it trickles down to us mere mortals.

You've probably seen this before. This shocked me the first time I saw it. I thought most of these old cars were tanks compared to new cars, but the thing just disintegrates. I can't imagine how a 240 would stack up.