Nissan 370Z coupe: new spy photos

By Tim Pollard

08 October 2008 16:31

Here’s the new Nissan 370Z coupe looking more than ever like a junior GT-R, caught on a rain-splashed shakedown as engineers hone the set-up ahead of launch at next month’s Los Angeles motor show. This is the model that will replace today’s 350Z, the brilliant sports car that’s helped turn around Nissan’s image this decade.

We’ll finally see the edgy new 370Z on 19 November 2008, but these photos reveal a squat, rakish new design with, as expected, plenty of hints of its GT-R super-coupe big brother – just look at the cockpit-style side windows and sloping roofline – to cement the link between Nissan’s sports cars.

The new 370Z: a baby GT-R?

It does look like a cross between the GT-R and the 350Z, pepped up with modern jewellery such as the glossy rear lights and more noticeably swooping wheelarches. The newcomer is said to be around four inches shorter than today’s 350Z, while the expected name is a signal that the car’s V6 will swell from 3.5 litres to – you guessed it – 3.7. It’s the same engine as in the Infiniti G37.

Nissan’s upmarket coupe has four-wheel drive and steer capability, but the 370Z is likely to stick with rear-wheel drive. Not that Nissan wants to replicate the current car’s macho tendencies; the new Zee is likely to adopt more technology, we hear.

The 370Z will land in the UK in April/May 2009, when it’s likely to carry a price tag starting between £28,000-30,000. The coupe will be launched first, but a roadster is likely to follow.

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