Designs filed with the Japanese Patent Office suggest a more hardcore variant of the new Nissan Z is in the works – and could be revealed as soon as 2023.
Japanese automotive outlet Best Car reports there is a hotter version of Nissan’s new Z in the pipeline, citing recent patent filings and modified test mule spottings.
In its domestic market of Japan, the hotly anticipated Nissan Z has enjoyed significant success, with delivery times reportedly blowing out beyond two years and forcing Nissan Japan to pause orders at the end of July.
Patent images shared by Best Car show a kitted-up Z that looks almost identical to the modified Nissan Z ‘Customized Proto’ concept car that was displayed at Tokyo Auto Salon 2022.
Camouflaged American test mules were also spotted in California and Arizona last month wearing the same split-front bumper arrangement, chinned front lip and featuring ‘Nismo’-branded seats.
Best Car’s report suggests the car will also receive uprated bracing, brakes, interior trim, and a small bump in power to the existing 3.0-litre twin-turbo VR30 engine.
Whether this kitted-up variant is a forthcoming Nismo Z variant, or something else, remains unclear.
While not officially confirmed by Nissan, many expect some form of Nismo-tuned Z to join the range in the future, with the previous generation 370 Z’s Nismo variant appearing just one model year after launch. The new Z is already participating in Japan‘s Super Taikyu series, and is being built for GT4 spec-racing – so there is already motorsport engineering and development to trickle down into the road car.
If this forthcoming Z variant isn’t a Nismo-branded product, what else could it be? There is a large precedence of anniversary models found in prior Z generations, with 2023 marking 90 years since Nihon Sangyo first appeared as ‘Nissan’ on the Tokyo Stock Exchange in 1933.
The modified Nissan Z display vehicle unveiled at this year’s Tokyo Auto Salon was designed in tribute to the original Datsun 240Z Z432R factory-built racing car.
Between 30 and 50 of these factory lightweight racers were produced in 1970, with no radio or air-con, acrylic glass, FRP panels and 0.2 millimetre-thinner body panels for ultimate weight-saving.
The ‘432’ denotes the four valves-per-cylinder, three Mikuni carburettor and dual-overhead cam configuration of Datsun’s famous S20 inline-six engine. That S20 engine was famously lifted from the original Skyline GT-R – the ‘Hakosuka’ PGC10 – which took its powerplant from Prince’s Grand Prix-winning R380 car.
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Keyword: 2023 Nismo Z? Japanese reports suggest hotter Nissan Z is on the way