The Return Of Z

The z proto is more than just a retro-styled concept – it represents nissan’s fight to regain control of the spirit that once made it legendary

- Cameron Kirby

There is a long shadow cast from the 21st level of Nissan’s headquarters in Yokohama, Japan. The shadow has a vast reach, touching everything associated with the manufacturer since the turn of the millennium. Cast not by a physical object, this shadow belongs to the ghost of Le Cost Killer – Carlos Ghosn.

The disgraced, exiled, and now international fugitive former leader of Nissan earned a reputation outside the company for his cut-throat leadership and was praised for saving the Japanese manufacturer from the brink of financial ruin. Internally, however, plans of a daring corporate coup to dethrone the polarising Ghosn had been put into motion more than a year before handcuffs were slapped onto the Lebanese-born CEO’s wrists.

Now, Nissan is hoping to break free of the two-decade legacy associated with Ghosn, and will be doing so in a coupe-shaped chariot.

Behold, the Nissan Z Proto, a pre-production look at the seventh generation of Nissan’s Z-car family.

Along with the Ariya electric SUV, the Z Proto is one of Nissan’s first major product reveals since Ghosn was contorted into a black box and smuggled out of Japan. Where the Ariya speaks to Nissan’s future, the Z Proto staunchly, and proudly, represents the company’s heritage and history.

Building a business case for a new sports car product, particularly an ‘affordable’ one, is notoriously hard to get past bean counters nowadays. Even the manufacturing juggernaut that is Toyota had to buddy up with BMW to revive the Supra nameplate. Where Ghosn would have leaned on Nissan’s alliance siblings, Nissan’s current leadership has decided to stand alone for the Z Proto (and production variant which will inevitably follow).