The upcoming 2022 Nissan Z might soothe years of disappointment.
Seeing the reveal of the 2022 Nissan Z made me feel like there was some hope for performance junkies. Only a handful of cars available have a beefy engine, rear drive and a manual gearbox option. On top of that, fewer offer that kind of combination in an affordable package. Hopefully, the 2022 Nissan Z will be all of those things.
We don’t know what the Nissan Z’s official name is yet. They call it the Nissan Z Proto.
When Nissan ruthlessly teased us with their epic IDX concepts – and opted not to build them, I broke furniture in a fit of rage. Here were slick looking, retro designs that hark back to the legendary Datsun 510 (Bluebird/1600). Man, that would out-awesome the Toyota 86. It could fill the gap that the ancient 370Z left in our automotive souls.
Sorry Nissan fans, no soup for you!
With all of the issues going on at Nissan, I was sure they would kill off a 370Z replacement. Boy, am I glad I was wrong about that! The upcoming Nissan Z looks like it could be a blast. It will have a new 3.0-liter twin-turbocharged V6 mated to a manual transmission – feeding the rear wheels.
Glory be!
On top of that, it has a cool looking exterior. I know that some of you bemoan the square intake, or the headlight design, but I think there’s a lot to like with this design. On top of that, I find it a bit more alluring than the Toyota Supra and the 86/BRZ. I especially like the silhouette and the rear-3/4 view.
Now, if they can make it affordable…
The 2021 Toyota Supra 2.0 with a four-cylinder engine starts at $43,945. Currently, the Subaru BRZ has a base price of $28,845 and the Toyota 86 starts at $27,060. If Nissan could return to their old 240Z-roots and build an awesome sports car for less bread, a mid $30,000 base price would be epic. Severely undercutting the competition, with serious performance potential – would make the next Z a legend. On top of that, if it could start at the same price as the Subaru/Toyota twins when they are fully loaded, Nissan could gain new consumers.
Sure, I’m sore about Nissan abandoning their IDX project, but the upcoming Nissan Z could compensate for that loss, big time! I truly am looking forward to driving one myself.
