New Nissan Z Proto is ‘not really a concept car’, insists design boss…

By: CAR magazine

Worried the upcoming 400Z won’t look much like the concept? Well, Nissan’s head of design insists you needn’t be, saying the new Z Proto is “not really a concept car” at all.

Alfonso Albaisa, Nissan’s senior vice-president of global design, suggested to CarExpert.com.au the vehicle’s name hinted at just how production-ready it was.

“The selection of the name Proto is quite deliberate. We didn’t call it a concept car because it’s not really a concept car. This is a car that we’ve been developing with our engineers; the chassis, the structure. This is a real car, it’s just not finished,” he said.

Albaisa added the Japanese firm’s R&D team “have it now”, adding “they own it; I won’t touch it anymore”.

Separately, Nissan CEO Makoto Uchida claimed the prototype’s styling was “close to final”.

“The Z Proto you see here is not a concept. The look of this is close to final, and the vehicle has been engineered for aerodynamics and body rigidity,” Uchida-san said, according to motoring.com.au.

While Nissan confirmed the prototype draws its urge from a twin-turbo V6 engine mated with a six-speed manual gearbox (and later added the production model would be available with the option of an automatic transmission, too), it has yet to release any power or torque figures, saying only the newcomer “packs a powerful punch”.

The vehicle measures 4 382 mm from nose to tail, which is a full 132 mm longer than the current 370Z and just three millimetres more than the Toyota GR Supra. It’s 1 850 mm wide, while standing 1 310 mm tall.

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