SHALL WE DANCE?

THE ENGINE AND PLATFORM GRAB HEADLINES, BUT THE WAY THE NEW NISSAN Z MOVES LEAVES A LASTING IMPRESSION

- FRANK MARKUS

Several years ago, Nissan's chief product specialist for the GT-R and Z, Hiroshi Tamura, bought an R32 Skyline GT-R souped up to about 1,000 horsepower. He made it his own by detuning it to 600 because sending more than 150 horsepower to each driven wheel simply overwhelmed the tire technology of the time and made the car completely unruly. As he did with his R32, Tamura aimed to make the 2023 Nissan Z more of a willing dance partner. This overarching philosophy drove many decisions that now promise to draw distinctions between the significantly revised Z34 and its archrival, the J29 Toyota GR Supra.

The lineup encompasses Sport and Performance trims, both being rear drive. With just two wheels to deliver power, the 400 hp and 350 lb-ft of torque generated by the VR30DDTT engine also used by the Infiniti Q50 and Q60 Red Sport models should fully whelm the traction capabilities of the Yokohama Advan or Bridgestone Potenza S007 rear tires.

Yet despite peak output numbers remaining the same, this was no simple engine swap. Z cars will likely do more track days than their Infiniti stablemates, so the intake gets a boost-recirculation circuit that holds pressure during brief throttle lift for corner entry. Driven back to back with the outgoing 370Z, it feels worlds smoother, more refined, and stronger. Sport mode adds some enhanced synthetic engine roar, which struggles to drown out the new Z's angry-vacuum cleaner exhaust sound at high rpm.

Speaking of power and corners, for 2023 Nissan tossed out the 370Z's viscous limited-slip differential (LSD) in favor of a mechanical unit-standard on Performance versions that uses clutch packs to lock when either tire slips. This provides a much more natural feel when powering out of corners, and it enhances traction when launching the car in a straight line.