[OFFICIAL] Discussion for the next new Nissan 400Z Z35?

RicerX

They're at 350hp with a maxed out OEM 3.7L V6. How do you propose they eek out an extra 25hp from that motor while maintaining all the environmental requirements that they're bound to? Furthermore, how do you propose to do that while maintaining or reducing weight on the powertrain alone? Finally, how would you plan to capture buyers outside the traditional Z demographic to make it a sales success with "only an additional 25hp" over the outgoing model? Casual sports/sporty car buyers don't care about weight, otherwise you wouldn't see any Challengers on the roads (CASUAL buyers - the type that don't distinguish between pony cars and sports cars, the type that the Z needs conquest sales from to make a business case for Nissan).

Don't forget - turbos add weight. A 3.7 VQ needs a platform large enough to carry it, so I wouldn't bank on reducing the overall platform size from the 370, and that's if you don't go up in displacement. A 3.0L V6 TT is going to take a similar amount of room when you add turbo hardware and the necessary cooling components. You probably don't want to reduce the vehicle's track or wheelbase in their respective widths and lengths if you want to use the 370 as a baseline in performance numbers. If you rework the 3.7 with direct injection, any performance gains going DI on an NA platform will likely be offset in hardware revisions such as the inclusion of cam-driven fuel pumps, etc.

I fail to see where you get an extra 25hp from where we are and reduce weight by 200lbs. After all, what you're looking for is a net gain in performance from a 370, right?

There is a paradigm in car buying today - you can buy a sports car that has two (and ONLY two) of the three following qualities: cheap, fast, lightweight.

You can buy a car that is cheap and fast, but not lightweight.
You can buy a car that is lightweight and cheap, but not fast.

And finally, you can buy a car that is lightweight and fast, but it won't be cheap.

This thread is precisely why Nissan has no idea what to do with the Z - its own buyers don't know what the hell they want besides a unicorn, and there aren't any automakers in the business of building unicorns.

I can bet Nissan's research study on current Z owners looks a lot like this:
22% want the car to be faster and more powerful
25% want the car to be cheaper and lighter
22% want the car to be lighter and more powerful
31% want a GT-R but can't afford it.

Of those buyers, 68% won't buy one new, 12% can't afford one, and 20% will be mad that it doesn't have enough power.

That's all from me for the day.

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