Nissan has given its latest-generation Z-car its Australian on-road debut with a showcase drive on a famous Targa Tasmania route.
The new Nissan Z uses a 298kW/475Nm twin-turbocharged V6 engine which powers the rear-wheels only, making the Z a big rival for the 285kW Toyota Supra.
Nissan claims that the new Z coupe has almost 22 percent more power than the outgoing 370z and 31 percent more torque, also.
The new Nissan Z will launch soon in Australia
The Z is set to be able to do the 0-100km/h sprint in the low four-second mark, which Nissan aso claims is 15 percent quicker than the outgoing 370z.
New Nissan Z, compared to the old 370Z
Nissan says that the new Z coupe is significantly better than its predecessor, so we thought we would do a spec comparison to find out where the differences lie.
The Nissan Z hitting some twisty roads in Tasmania
Switch to twin-turbocharging from natural aspiration
The new Nissan Z uses a ‘VR30DDTT’ 3.0-litre twin-turbocharged V6 engine instead of the naturally-aspirated 3.7-litre V6 engine used in the 370z.
The 370z engine is a ‘VQ37VHR’ motor and is part of the wider VQ family of engines and goes without the use of turbochargers or superchargers. In 370z guise, the engine produced 261kW/374Nm.
This 3.7-litre V6 engine was Nissan’s first production engine to utilise VVEL (Variable Valve Event and Lift) which performs similarly to BMW’s Valvetronic system.
The Z has a 298kW twin-turbo V6 engine
But what does turbocharging really do? Read our guide to turbo vs supercharger vs naturally-aspirated engines here.
Choice of manual or automatic
The new Nissan Z is available with either a nine-speed automatic transmission or a six-speed automatic transmission.
The manual version could cost around $63,000 before on-road costs here in Australia, with the automatic likely to cost around $3000 more. Official pricing is yet to be revealed.
The coupe is available with either automatic or manual transmissions
The outgoing Nissan 370z was available with either a seven-speed automatic transmission or a six-speed manual transmission.
Both automatic transmissions from the Z cars are torque-converter units rather than dual-clutch transmissions, which is similar to the Toyota Supra in that it, too, has an eight-speed ZF torque-converter automatic.
You can read more about the last remaining cars with manual gearboxes in our guide here.
The Nissan Z was well suited to Tassie roads
Shared basic platform but extensive new spec
Both Nissan Z cars sit on the same FM platform that was introduced in 2001 in the Nissan Skyline.
But the new Z has much more modern technology in it, including a new 12.3-inch driving cluster standard on higher grades, which replaces the ageing analogue dials in the 370z.
A 9.0-inch touchscreen is also available, up from the 7.0-inch touchscreen available as an option on the outgoing 370z.
