2021 400Z Thoughts?

abm89

I guess I'll post my initial thoughts here on the new car now that i've had some time to process it.

Exterior:

I don't really feel inspired by the looks of the Z Proto. While I can appreciate the heritage styling cues, I was never a huge fan of the swept fastback look like on the S30s. I feel like the car flowed better with he ever so slight decklid as seen on the Z33s and newer. Going on with the rear, I never liked the Z32s; they can scrap that honestly. The rear quarter panel proportions are excellent though, and the flush door handle is something I hope they keep. If it has functionality like the new 992 Porsche's where it will pop out so you don't get many nail scrapes, that'll be cool. I'm kind of with the consensus that the front needs work, but this seems easily fixed by replacing the bumper cover. I kinda would wait to see the NISMO version to see if they go with a long-nose design, something akin to the Voltex kit for the Z33 (maybe less aggressive).

Interior:

The interior is a huge upgrade over the Z34. This is probably the best part even if it is a slight facelift. The driver-aligned center console makes sense and I never thought those vertical air vents were useful, so I'm glad they changed it. the materials look high quality and the steering wheel design looks good. The digital dash brings this cockpit up-to-date, but i worry it will be outdated by the time it is released. Feature-wise, I'm glad they added the oil pressure and diff temp readings to the UI, but I'm assuming this is configurable so, why not replace the voltmeter with something more important? Also, what is that center gauge, turbo airflow? Idk why I need to see that if I have boost pressure. Seems redundant. Piano black needs to go; not a fan. The last thing I'm glad they did was keep analog dials for HVAC. I HATE cars that use digital only for the HVAC controls as I find I adjust them frequently when driving. It's the main reason why I didn't get a Model 3 for my daily. I wish car companies would go away from that trend.

Powertrain:

The VR30 seems like the obvious choice, but I have not heard good things about the motor reliability when you start to tune them. As someone who would tune their sports car, that's not very promising, but I see it as adequate for most people who will buy the car. The retention of the manual is a smart move by Nissan, but I hope they fixed the issues with the syncros and moved back to an outboard slave cylinder. I absolutely dislike this transmission with my list of "Better shifting" manuals I've driven being my WRX, a stock Mazda 3, a NA1 NSX, and a 987 Cayman S. A mechanical diff option would be nice instead of viscous for the more hardcore enthusiasts, and it would be nice if that traction off button can do a full kill. It's still kinda lame I cant turn the traction off ALL THE WAY without killing the yaw sensor.

Verdict:

There are definite improvements over the Z34, but I am just not liking the styling overall, (specifically the rear). I think it will be a hit with most people and the manual transmission is a big check-mark for many people who actually would buy this car. However, I'd personally go for the Supra, mainly due to me being brand (and increasingly car) agnostic. I don't personally care that the Supra's powertrain is a collab with BMW, so long as it is a good product, and it looks like it is. Styling-wise I prefer about 80-90% of the choices made versus the Z where I feel I only like about 60% of it. As far as Manual vs Auto, the ZF is an excellent transmission, so if I had to pick right now, I'd still get a Supra.

...I just have a hunch that Toyota (or BMW) will release a 3-pedal Supra conveniently when the Z is released.

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Complete Parts List:
https://github.com/abm89/ztouge-build