A NEW DAWN
After what has seemed like years of spy shots, teases and previews, the new Nissan Z sports coupe has finally been revealed. The first new Z car in more than a decade, the latest generation was unveiled in the US in August and is due to reach Australian showrooms sometime in 2022.
While the new Z continues a lineage that stretches back to 1969, it does break with tradition somewhat in that there’ll be no number prefacing the model name.
What started as the 240Z in 1969 (Fairlady Z if you were in Japan) referred to the 2.4-litre straight six engine under the bonnet. When that was enlarged to 2.6 litres in 1974, so the model name changed to 260Z. The 2.8-litre saw the arrival of the 280Z a year later, with the Nissan-badged 280ZX following.
Redesigned with a 3.0-litre V6 to become the 300ZX, there were two distinct versions of the Z car to wear that badge before the all-new 350Z arrived in 2002. Obviously, that model upped engine size to 3.5 litres, followed by the 370Z with a 3.7-litre V6 that was introduced for the 2009 model year and is still
