Nissan 400Z NISMO coming

When the new Nissan 400Z sports car arrives in 2022 it will ensure the famous Z-car blood line lives on – and a high-performance track-ready NISMO model is all but certain.

Reports out of Japan suggest a hotter version dubbed the Nissan 480Z will eventuate, blasting out loads of power -- 480hp or around 360kW from its twin-turbo V6. Neither the 480Z nor 400Z names have been confirmed, but a likely scenario is that the next Z-car will be called the 400Z and, as is currently the case, offered in coupe, convertible and NISMO guises.

Regular Nissan 400Z models are almost certain to get a development of the Infiniti Q60's twin-turbo 3.0-litre V6 (VR30DDTT) engine, which currently pumps out 298kW and 475Nm and still has a lot of life left in it.

The 2022 Nissan 400Z NISMO will likely get eye-catching aerodynamic body work and upgraded suspension, brakes and engine outputs -- potentially the 360kW/480hp figures mentioned above.

Designed to fight the upcoming high-performance Toyota Supra GRMN, the track-ready Nissan 400Z NISMO may even get an electrically-driven twin-turbo version of the VR30DDTT to dial up a scorching 420kW. Early development (in conjunction with the Renault Sport F1 team) on that engine upgrade has already been carried out but it is very much a long shot for the 400Z given its expected high asking price.

In mid-April, respected British publication Autocar reported that the Nissan 400Z would get the twin-turbo V6 (which has since been confirmed by insiders) and will be sale within 12 months. However, carsales understands that timeline may be a little premature.

The seventh-generation Nissan Z-car began to break cover in late 2019 when a modified 370Z with extra cooling vents was seen smashing out laps at the Nurburgring road circuit in Germany.

We expect the existing Nissan 370Z (Z34 generation) to solider on for at least the next couple of years, and a concept version of the new Z35-series to lob next year – most likely at the 2021 Tokyo motor show next October. The Z concept car will preview the production car coming in 2022, with some of the wilder design elements to be toned down for the Z35 road car.

The design of the rear-drive Nissan 400Z coupe is still a closely guarded secret and it's not clear whether it will be an evolution of the current 370Z design, adopt a fresh new look or include classic styling cues from the previous Z-cars like the Nissan 240Z from the early 1970s.

Whatever the case, a legion of talented artists have created some cool fan art – including the creations on this page from Guillaume Lerouge.

These renders use the Nissan Fairlady Z naming convention, which is what the current 370Z cars are called in Japan. For the record, the Fairlady name comes from the idea that driving a good sports car is like dancing with an elegant lady.

Nissan Z: 50-years in the making

While it's unlikely we'll ever see a shooting brake version of a Nissan sports car in future, the upcoming 400Z will continue the Z-car legacy which started in 1969 with the Nissan 240Z.

The iconic 300ZX that carried the Z brand through the 1980s and 1990s was followed by the Nissan 350Z in 2002, after former Nissan CEO and now international criminal-at-large Carlos Ghosn famously declared: "We will build the Z and we will make it profitable".

The current Nissan 370Z was launched in 2008 and, 14 years later, the 2022 Z-car will debut a new take on the famous Z logo.