New Nissan Z release details revealed

The world has been waiting for a new Nissan Z sports car for a long time now.

In fact it’s been 12 years since the current 370Z – basically a heavily upgraded version of the 350Z released in 2002 – arrived in 2009 and more than eight months since the Nissan Z Proto concept was revealed in September 2020.

Rumours of the production version of the so-called 2022 Nissan 400Z, which is now expected to be badged simply as the Nissan Z, making its debut in the US last weekend proved wide of the mark, with a global premiere now likely at the New York motor show in August.

Now, according to the NewNissanZ forum, a Nissan insider has confirmed the official order book won’t open in North America – the Nissan Z’s biggest market – until November 15.

Nissan Australia won’t comment on timing for its launch of the new Z, but we understand the local order book will open soon after the US launch, before deliveries commence globally in early 2022.

That means the new Nissan Z could still be up to a year away from Aussie showrooms.

Until then, these fresh images of the production Z undergoing final testing in Colorado show the showroom version will be all but identical to the concept.

US reports say the 2022 Nissan Z will be priced from $US34,995 ($A45,240), but by the time it lands here we expect the local starting price to once again be in the $60,000 to $70,000 bracket in Australia.

The outgoing 370Z is currently in runout priced from just over $50K, but whatever the markup its replacement will significantly undercut the Toyota Supra (from $87,126).

As we’ve reported, the seventh-generation Z35 sports car will come with an Infiniti-sourced 3.0-litre twin-turbo petrol V6 packing around 300kW – or 400hp, hence expectations of the 400Z moniker (rather than 300Z to denote its downsized turbo engine, which could have been perceived as a backward step).

Along with about 500Nm of torque, it should bless the new Nissan Z with Toyota Supra-rivalling levels of thrust.

Once again the rear-drive two-seat coupe, which should again be followed by a soft-top roadster, will be offered in both manual and automatic form – unlike its arch-rival, the Toyota Supra, which is an auto-only sports car.

However, alongside the six-speed manual, latest reports are the auto will be a JATCO-sourced nine-speed automatic dubbed 9G TRONIC 725.0, which was developed by Daimler and is expected to make its way into other Nissan products.

Watch this space.