How Nissan is looking to recapture the magic of the Z in motorsport

New Nissan Z. New Nissan Z NISMO. New Nissan Z GT4. In case you couldn’t tell, the Z is important to Nissan, and much of the manufacturer’s effort to push the Z to the forefront centers around the GT4 program.

“The Z-car is the sports car DNA of Nissan,” says Yuzo Ishikawa,…

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As a long time Z fan and owner, I'm interested to see how this plays out. I find it also interesting that I have yet to see the latest Z out on the road, anywhere. None, zero, zip, nada......hmmmmm.

Nissan is selling Z's still?

In reply to Datsun310Guy :

Beat me, I've seen maybe 2 of them on the road. Is the production volume just that low?

So, how many units of the Z has Nissan sold?

Here's the answer, per their reports:

Q2 2023: 500
Q1 2023: 466
Q4 2022: 177
Q3 2022: 86
Total Reported: 1229

To put things in comparison, the number of units sold during that time frame for other Nissan vehicles:
Altima: 124,586
GT-R: 220

In the past year it averaged 100/month or 2 per US state? Mr. Z book tells of the Z - compare the volume.  

I understand we don't have enough chips, so that might hold up production but what a difference.  
 

Maybe I'm just not hip to the latest and greatest, but I've never seen calipers that look like that (looking at the pic in the article). Does it have calipers that look like that stock? Some odd configuration to make stock spindles work with upgraded brakes?

Either way, happy to see more interest in racing. I gotta say though, there's a lot of inertia the wrong way with the Nissan brand IMO. Went to one of their dealerships a while back and left almost immediately. Every car just exuded "rental car" vibes, and the overall brand image seems poor for even non-car-people. On the road I treat any Nissan as a threat, and am correct way too often.

In reply to spedracer :

Good question about the calipers. You won't find those on the production Performance model.

Performance model gets Akebono four-piston calipers on the front, two-piston ones on the rear.

GT4 gets Brembo six-piston calipers on the front, four-piston ones on the rear.

As far as rotors.

Performance: 14-inch up front, 13.8-inch in rear.
GT4: 15.4-inch up front, 13.6-inch in rear.

Looks like that caliper is designed to limit flex, and to cool as efficiently as possible.

Interesting, what tires do they run in GT4?  Good to know the new Z motor can live on track with out dry-sump oil system.  Suprising, or is that all GT4.

In reply to Erikl :

Depends on the sanctioning body.  IMSA runs Michelin, SRO runs Pirelli, 24H runs Hankook.

racerfink said:

In reply to Erikl :

Depends on the sanctioning body.  IMSA runs Michelin, SRO runs Pirelli, 24H runs Hankook.

 

Yeah, you beat me to it. In most nearly all of today’s professional ranks, the tire make/model is specified by the sanctioning body. 

I know it’s not a direct competitor (or is it?), but some recent Miata sales numbers:

I talked to a dealer near Indianapolis and they were discounting Miata's - maybe only $750 but it's not marked way high.....

300zxfreak said:

As a long time Z fan and owner, I'm interested to see how this plays out. I find it also interesting that I have yet to see the latest Z out on the road, anywhere. None, zero, zip, nada......hmmmmm.

Same. The only time I've seen one was at the 12 Hours of Sebring and it was a pace car for one of the races. 

Also from reviews, my deduction is that it seems to be a less than stellar car compared to its competition. Also the upcoming NISMO edition will be auto only.....What is Nissan doing? 

DirtyBird222 said:

What is Nissan doing? 

Making money not selling Z cars.

Multiply 125,000 Altimas X an average $34,000 price (guessing)?

$4,250,000,000

How many Sentras they sell?

In reply to Datsun310Guy :

Datsun310Guy said:

DirtyBird222 said:

What is Nissan doing? 

Making money not selling Z cars.

Multiply 125,000 Altimas X an average $34,000 price (guessing)?

$4,250,000,000

How many Sentras they sell?

I meant with the auto only NISMO. 

Also the average price of a new Altima is $25k. The demographic for an Altima aren't spending over $30k on a demo derby car. 

I've heard Nissan called the GMC of Japan, I'm wondering if they're more like the Chrysler/Dodge/Jeep. Decent sedans that do most of the heavy lifting with a few way out there sports cars almost no one ever buys. 

Well, I guess the Titan really ruins the metaphor but anyway.

Did they ever solve their "every feature is controlled by a button" problem? I know what the study said about time distracted while using touch screens versus buttons, I don't care. The inside of that rental Maxima looked like the cockpit of the space shuttle. 

In reply to DirtyBird222 :

I’ve heard a bit of grumbling about the automatic-only Nismo.

So, a question: If the Nismo is the “fast” version and the auto is faster, is that the ideal setup? Or does fun > fast?

Discuss. 

David S. Wallens said:

In reply to DirtyBird222 :

I’ve heard a bit of grumbling about the automatic-only Nismo.

So, a question: If the Nismo is the “fast” version and the auto is faster, is that the ideal setup? Or does fun > fast?

Discuss. 

I haven't driven either to have a valid conclusion on the topic. I don't care for the industry trend to kill of the manuals but if people aren't buying them, I understand the business decision. It just sucks for us purists and enthusiast, regardless if the auto is "faster" or not. 

I will say I had a win this summer. I taught my 16 year old niece, a Gen Zer, how to drive stick. You know what she went out and bought as her first car? A 8th gen Civic Si, which only comes equipped with a manual. 

It's now 8 months from my initial post and I still have not seen a new Z out on the road......

300zxfreak said:

It's now 8 months from my initial post and I still have not seen a new Z out on the road......

I have seen one.  One.

Are they languishing in showrooms with ridiculous markups, because idiot sales managers insist they will sell at that price?

Or are they just not shipping?

In reply to 300zxfreak :

Me neither. And I'm in an car-centric area. Rivians? Sure. C8's? Lousy with them. Can't swing a stick without hitting a G-Wagon.  Taycan? Parked next to one yesterday. The lady in the Bentayga on her phone last week? Phfft.

A 400Z? Nope.