SEMA 2023: Wild Nissan Safari Rally Z Tribute revealed

The Nissan Safari Rally Z Tribute has been unleashed ahead of its debut at the 2023 SEMA show in Las Vegas, revealing an unlikely rival for the Porsche 911 Dakar.

Created to pay homage to the Datsun 240Z racer that won the 1971 East African Safari Rally, the one-off Nissan Safari Rally Z Tribute was created especially for SEMA in partnership with South Carolina-based Tommy Pike Customs.

Featuring raised KW Safari suspension that’s combined with NISMO parts, the rally-ready Nissan Z now rides 2” (51mm) higher than standard and sports a full set of 17-inch NISMO Safari wheels shod with mud-loving Yokohama Geolandar M/T G003 tyres.

Beneath the skin the powertrain is protected by a new front bash plate and full underbody armour.

Up front, there’s new NISMO Off Road LED lamps created for dusty conditions or night racing.

Inside, there’s a roll cage and a pair of Recaro Pole Position race seats with four-point harnesses.

Under the bonnet is a tuned 300kW-plus twin-turbocharged 3.0-litre V6 that features a new cat-back sports exhaust, revised cold air intake and a carbon-fibre engine cover and new coolant expansion tank to better deal with higher temperatures.

To cope with the extra power and torque, the six-speed manual transmission gets an uprated twin-disc clutch and revised flywheel.

Painted in red with a black bonnet, the Safari Rally Z Tribute matches the same livery as the number 11 Datsun 240Z that was driven to victory in 1971 by Edgar Herrmann and Hans Schuller navigating.

Set to be officially unveiled later today (October 31) at the SEMA show alongside a replica of the Safari Rally-winning 240Z, Nissan has also teamed up with Japanese watch-maker Seiko to produce a commemorative wrist watch.

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