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After a decade of sports car complacency, Nissan will finally reveal its hotly anticipated next-generation Z Proto to the world later this month. The retro-inspired coupe is slated to replace its aging 370z platform while offering the promise of a modernized package that doesn’t stray far from its rich heritage. On Thursday, Nissan turned up the hype by releasing a new teaser showing off a clip of the Z Proto’s new powerplant.
Nissan’s latest marketing trick is another quick 30-second overview of the new Z. And while we still are limited to shots of the car’s silhouette, updated lighting, and the Z-stamped door sills, we finally get a teaser that tantalizes another powerful sensor receptor: our ears.
Just a few seconds into the video, we can ear the engine start up and be revved quite violently, giving us a peek of what the future Japanese sports car could sound like.
We don’t yet know what will be under the hood of the upcoming car, but it’s not unreasonable to suspect that the next-gen Z (which has been rumored to be called the “400z” for quite some time) will package the same 400-horsepower VR30DDTT found in the Infiniti Q60 Red Sport. It’s also worth mentioning that the Z may also see an electrified variant later in the product’s lifecycle, but something tells us that Nissan’s initial announcement will focus on a post-Ghosn return to the Z’s roots.
As we speculated from one of Nissan’s other teasers released earlier this week, the new video confirms that the next-gen Z will feature a manual transmission. The center console also keeps the same Mickey Mouse-style look as the 370z, placing two buttons above the shifter.
Historically, this has been where drivers can toggle the car’s built-in rev-matching functionality and hazards, though it looks like the left-most button has been replaced with a bit of text. Perhaps the car’s ignition switch has been relocated to a more exotic location than the traditional spot on the dashboard.
If Nissan can pull this off, I just might be able to forgive it for a decade of dragging along its current Z platform alongside a sea of otherwise beige offerings. We’ll know more on Sept. 16 when the Z Proto is officially unmasked—or perhaps next week when it releases yet another teaser.
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