If You Could Design a New 240Z

[m4xwellmurd3r]

the thing about that car is, the guy who rendered it, basically just used the old S30 body line's and modified that. Someone did an onion layer of an S30 profile over it, and it matched almost 100%

It looks nice, but it doesn't fix any of the problems with the old body, aerodynamic wise that is. I really want to see what the new 370z looks like. From the pictures I saw of the silver car, it looks very much like a new version of the S30

[doradox]

I thought it looked like the windshield had more rake to it. It definitely has the S30 lines though, which I like. The roof is interesting. Viper Coupe like.

Steve

[Danglybanger]

...Uggh, WHY are people still talking about that thing.

Aside from the Miura Concept-esque taillights (and only from some angles), it looks like a cheap, Squashed Z (by Whirlpool). It appears it would be light, but it looks like the detailing just screams "hey, you know I'm a Z because they stuck melted looking sugar scoops on this spat out jellybean. Never mind the sagging edges, I'm a Z, get it?"

[doradox]

...Uggh, WHY are people still talking about that thing.

Aside from the Miura Concept-esque taillights (and only from some angles), it looks like a cheap, Squashed Z (by Whirlpool). It appears it would be light, but it looks like the detailing just screams "hey, you know I'm a Z because they stuck melted looking sugar scoops on this spat out jellybean. Never mind the sagging edges, I'm a Z, get it?"

Why don't you tell us how you really feel. :laugh:

Steve

[DougN]

I like it better than the current 350Z.

[Zedyone_kenobi]

I think any new Z will have to go back to what Mr K thought the Z should be. A Japanese sports car for the Americans. IT has to fit Americans and be sporty enough to survive on our roads. It should be capable of winning races out of the box and should be affordable. It does not have to be the fastest car in the world, but it should have miata levels of fun built into it. Most of all, it must be reliable. The Z was known for melding all the current technology together in a way that was fun to drive and seemless to the driver.

My recipe for a modern 240Z would be the following:

RWD of course

4 wheel disks with 4 channel ABS

6 speed manual gearbox (No DSG or CVT here)

It needs a 6 cylinder for sure, but a straight 6 is not going to happen, as nissan does not have one available to my knowledge. They do have a 2.5 liter 4 banger, that makes like 175 HP/180 ft lbs torque. That would do nicely if you can throw some Direct Injection on it and perhaps some of that variable valve timing. Make it rev to 6.5k to 7k, and let it have around 200 HP when all said and done. Its enough to make it crazy fun and not step on the 370Z's toes. It will also give room for growth in the future. This small engine will also provide good fuel economy and reliability. Plus nissan already has it.

The car should be a 2+2, which I know makes people cringe, but you cannot market a pure two seater with much success thats not a convertible. I would give it rear suicide doors ala RX8. If Mazda can do it then Nissan can do it with the 250Z.

This car should be a shining example of nissans new approach to building light weight cars. Make this car come in at 2700 lbs MAX, with the use of composites and Carbon Fiber its perfectly possible. Make it a drivers car. No power seats, no power sunroof, Make the drivers position and comfort pinnacle. It should have 17" rims, that are 7" wide. Any more its snappiness or steering feel may suffer. You want a stock tire size to be competitive in its class, and yet not too expensive that people will not be able to afford to replace.

I would not have a turbo option, as it will become drift car fodder and it will be a poster car for the NOPI crowd, which is not the demographic I would want.

The car should come in the mid to high 20's. The Nismo 250Z will may nip 30.

[doradox]

Nissan has a 2.5 liter V6, the VQ25HR V6, for the JDM that puts out 225 HP and it revs. At 2700 lbs and 225 HP a 250Z would be nipping at the 370Z's heels. The JDM Sentra SE-R spec V has that 2.5 4 cylinder you mentioned and it already has 200 HP. The problem I see is that they don't have a small rear drive platform. The 350Z shares with the G Coupe and that may have been one of the driving reasons we didn't get a smaller more affordable Z. Infinity needed the G35 to fill a slot in it's lineup and since they are a high end brand the Z ended up having to go a little more upmarket. I see the original 240Z as a sports car. The Miata held true to it's sports car roots while the Z became an expensive high performance sports car. Then look what happened to sales. Toyota Supra too. I agree that a new 240-250 whatever needs to be affordable to drive. Who wants to spend $1500 replacing a set of big fat performance tires after 20,000 miles. My first 2 240's were daily drivers and one reason was because they were cheap to operate. I could afford to have sports car as my driver because of that. A 2+2 I'm not to sure about although the generation of ZX before the 350Z pulled it off. You'd be getting awful close to 240SX territory. Not that that is bad but if you are doing the pure sports car thing..well. I am hoping we'll see a 240SX like car soon from Nissan but I'm afraid that wouldn't leave enough of a gap for a 250Z, although it would be the small rear drive platform Nissan would need to do it.

Steve

P.S. A little destroking on that 2.5 V6 would give 2.4 liters for a 240Z

Edited August 7, 2008 by doradox
P.S.

[Danglybanger]

...I have to say, it's painful to think of all the goodies that the latest 300ZX had that the 350 doesn't, despite them being very different cars in the first place... In terms of the technology bundled with the 300ZX, no other company, let alone Nissan, has made a successor IMO...

The 350 is a bit on the big side, in an odd way after thinking about it I suppose the 240SX largely did occupy the Zs former niche, despite only being a 4 cylinder... If a new Silvia is introduced, perhaps a Z might become a 6 cylinder Silvia. Is that a good thing? I really don't know...

I do think that the S30Z has a magic about it that would be almost impossible to duplicate nowaday anyways, a straight six and reduced weight would probably be part of the equation if they were really trying for that though.

In the meantime, I don't think there's any Z car I would refuse