It's even possible the next Z will be a hybrid. . .

It is, but nothing from Nissan yet.
If you look at Nissan's line up they have a lot of small engine/displacement with turbo options which could be the future of the Z. Yet you also have the fully electric leaf, which gets 100 miles per charge which could bring an electric/petrol setup.

I still think they will use a smaller displacement V6 with a turbo more than anything else, the CAFE standards are no
joke and other than a few cars Nissan is not very fuel efficient as a brand.

Although, the LEAF is probably helping and might prevent the next gen Z from getting de-powered.

There has never been a 4 cylinder Z car, right ?

i found this at nissan website,,here is link

http://nissannews.com/newsrelease.do?&id=2255

this car look really similar to z!!

if u read the article it says two door electric sports car!

Eh, I love the idea of electric cars, but even the newest ones are a bit dodgy in terms of range and make very little power.

I think we're still a ways away from a really good tree-hugger version let alone one that will also run hot laps at the track without running out of power after 10 seconds.

I'd be down with a nice hybrid one, hopefully with some sort of FI involved.

That said, if the new model will be released within the next 2-3 years, I'd guess regular gas engine, possibly with an option for something that has a little less displacement, but a turbo as a few other folks have mentioned.

Correct, what you will most likely see is maybe a return to a 3.0 V6 turbo possible. Nissan has been working hard on turbos (Juke and a few others coming soon), which can be carried over to the V6 engines. This will give them greater fuel efficiency and power output they want.

I think a turbo 6 is a realistic possibility. With popularity of turbo motors finally picking up in North America (largely due to the US OEMs utilizing turbo motors), it might finally make sense for Nissan to offer a turbo 6 as an option again. They'd have to do it in a way as to not encroach on GT-R territory though, so it'd probably be drastically detuned if they ever did come out with a turbo 6.

I highly doubt they'll ever go to a 4 cylinder motor though, as it's just not in the Z's heritage and would probably upset a lot of purists.

Well, with Nissan bumping the GT-R power lately and more improvements to come I think there is plenty of room for a turbo V6 motor. They can easily put it at 350-400HP from factory and keep it under the GT-R.

If Nissan can keep the car light and nimble, it will keep its separation from the GT-R and become more competitive against cars in its bracket.

The rear of that pic reminds me of the 240 tail lights. Could be the new 240SX, and compete against the FT-86, who knows....

What...S16!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :stirthepot:

I'd say straight 6 turbo'ed Z and a V8 TT GT-R :tup:

or how about a small displacement, high revving turbo V8. When I say small i mean in the 3L or less range. If they built it to rev to about 8-9k rpm they could still get a good bit of power out of it while keeping it reliable.

Displacement and cylinder count is going backwards now. Forced induction proves that V8s aren't necessary to make power. I think the next Z will probably still be a naturally aspirated V6, with a horsepower bump. Turbo is also popular, but Nissan will want to distance the GT-R from the Z and the Z from the next S-chassis car.

"light and Nimble" is where a 4 cylinder could come in and further separate it from their supercar. .

Most likely a smaller V6 though, I agree. Nissan makes V6 engines very well.