Well, remember engine weight between a 4/6/8 are very similar today. I have seen an LS motor put into a s2k and only gain a couple pounds.
The issue with the Z though is the 'size' of the car and safety requirements just add weight, but Nissan could lower it with better material and technology but might raise the price more.

I don't see them going down in displacement. They'd have to change their whole numbering scheme. Turbo or hybrid, who knows. This is even if they make a new Z (hopefully they do). Of course they have to be mindful of the cost, as they got into trouble with the 300zx (which paritally led to the Z cancellation). I wonder what impact a hybrid would have on sales for a sportscar..

I could see them going back to a 3.5L v6 TT... they do the turbo thing so very well as has been stated before...
I don't see them dropping all the way down to 3.0L UNLESS they have been retooling the VG30DETT in secret to make a VQ30DETT... but who knows those guys at Nissan are a wiley bunch!

I really hope to see a new motor from Nissan, the VQ is becoming a bit old and a new design could really boost the Z forward.

there is no VQ30... so it would be a new motor in an old family...

or they could come up with a new naming scheme... VRXXDETT, or something like that lol

Nissan did the VQ30 already. It was the motor for the Maxima about 10 years back. They also had a turbo version - VQ30DET - which was on a few luxury cars in Japan.

They also did the VQ30DETT already; it was the motor used in the R34 and Z33 Super GT cars for a little while.

V8 or TT please:tup:

orly? neat info!
well then, it's time for a new VXXXDETT

no V8... that would be as blasphemous as sticking a I4 in the Z

TT sounds real nice tho

i spoke with someone recently "in the know" at length about the possibilities for the next generation Z and those that follow. Nissan lost it's *** with the Z32 TT. it was too expensive, too complex and too costly to fix under warranty repair for them to justify at the Z's pricepoint (currently between $30-40k). they will be happy to sell a person who wants a twin turbo Z car a GTR all day long. the Z will remain a 6 cyl front engine, NA, RWD car for the near future according to this person. i tend to believe that. i would imagine direct injection will be next on Nissan's "to-do" list for the "Z35" along with continuing to lower the weight where possible and reduce emissions. i would expect the next Z to have somewhere in the neighborhood of 400bhp (at least the next nismo model) and hopefully drop a few lbs, not that the 370z is heavy by any means. i would also expect a good 10-15% bump in fuel economy and hopefully a true manual option as well as a DCT automated manual trans if the cost can come down enough.

They lost there *** on the Z32 because it wasn't the time for it..
now days, even with the economy as is. they could make their fair share back..
I could see a dumbed down version of the GTR motor in the next Z... it's feasable..
I mean look at the crazy ish they are doing with the JUKE.. not that that will ever see production.. BUT, it's them seeing whats really possible...



the next Z on the Juke platform... :stirthepot:

what do you mean by "true manual"?

making the Z forced induction would raise the price significantly, figure somewhere between the $50-60k range, especially with a big robust hunk of aluminum like the VR38 block. also keep in mind the VR block was specifically developed to be in the GTR and was never intended to be bolted to a transmission (the GTR's is in the back of the car). the Z powertrain is relatively inexpensive and easy to repair. why was the Z32 "not feasible" to go forced induction? it had an overbuilt chassis with a beefy transmission, engine and axle. it still had it's issues and owners who destroyed components.

the juke w/ the GTR motor is just a pipe dream "can we do it?" test. no way in hell it will ever see the light of day in showrooms

three pedals

don't we have that already?