One Hell of a sportscar, and a rennaisance of Nissan Motors

This is it - the one we've all been waiting for...3 Loooonnnggg years PLUS! All those hours spent gazing at sneak-peek pictures in Car and Driver and all the other mags talking it up about power, handling, size, overall delivery... In short, all the praise in the world just doesn't do it justice until you've sat down and driven it yourself - this is one hell of a driver's car, and hopefully, a new revitalization of a struggling Nissan Motors...

The version I drove is the Track Package version, a legend in the making, a racy rendition of a car that is A) already a classic on reputation and B) bound to carve its own little new niche in classic car star-dom.. The "track" version of the New Z includes gorgeous 18" racing rims and a more fine tuned and adjustable suspension with a very sharp 6 speed manual transmission. Make no mistake, this car is 100% fun and virtually 100% serious, except of course for the fact that at under 40,000 out the door, you can't help but think you just got the deal of a century...More about price later, on to performance and feel....

Driving made EXTREMELY FUN (TO the 100th power): Nissan has stumbled across something legendary here...This automobile feels light and agile and has the uncanny ability to remain extroardinarily neutral feeling no matter how extreme the twisties get...this car is literally the closest thing to riding a bike in the "fun factor" department... While I'm nearly certain no car will ever fullfil me like a sportbike, this car is a blast and for some very good reasons:

Weight neutrality - Nissan took a lesson from BMW on this one: BMWs M coupe has a 49/51 weight distribution, as close to perfect as you can hope to get... THe Z follow suit weighing in balance wise at 53/47 and boy can you feel it - With the tighter racier "track" suspension combined with 18" low-profile track oriented "Rays" wheels mounted with 245/45 / 225/45 tires and slowed and a 4 piston Brembo package, the car stops on a dime and brakes into remarkable neutral-aggressive corner entry with virtually no body roll and incredible bite- The front spoiler is absolute necessity, because you will be tempted to take corner entries at some very fast speeds - downforce in the front is one of the key elements to keeping the front rubber hungry and making it hook.
Traction in this car is a non-issue, pushing hard on the upstate NY backroads, I was extremely impressed with the initial bite both traction and steering - I experienced nearly no understeer except in extreme opposing weight entry situations hard on the gas - a quick tap on the stoppers into the next corner was all she needed - excellent reassurance of the dedication of the high performance rubber and the precision of the Nissan suspension package.

Powerwise, the Nissan 6 makes 287 ponies at 6,200 RPM and 274 foot-pounds at 4,800...This is plenty of power for the weekend-warrior sportscar enthusiast - even an F1 driver would be (fairly) impressed with the match up of the Nissan 6 to the cars tight suspension - it is a very sybiotic relationship, however there will come a point where you just need more. I won't even attempt to say the car feels underpowered - it's just the sanity has its limits, as does practicality. While the New Z is fairly economical for all intents and purposes, let's face it- the car is not about practicality. THe absence of a turbo on this machine are basically inexplicable...I'm certain tuners will be playing with turbos and/or toying with the proven naturally-aspirated methods of pulling more performance out of this engine...However I myself am very curious to have a follow up drive once some engine work is done, just to see how much of that delicate balance of suspension and engine remain.

One of the key elements of this car howerver, regardless of power, is the aboslute fun factor. Some sports cars have you scratching your head prior to the drive thinking... Hmmm...what does 0-100 feel like in this car...how does the engine respond in the power band...The Z eliminates all these questions the minute you snap it into first and let off that clutch - the car is so fun to drive, you simply forget to ask, how fast did 0-60 feel? The car is simply a joy to operate and really earned Nissan a well deserved medal in the "Driver's Car" hall of fame.

Interior wise, the cockpit is layed out in a very classy fashion, just enough hi-tech looking plastic with perfect aluminum accents abound all around the cockpit. Display is semi-spaceship like, very accesible to the driver and very conducive to high speed sorties due to excellent visibility. Space wise, however, once again, this car is NOT about practicality. The rear torsion tower brace alone takes up a substantial bit of what WOULD HAVE otherwise been more interior room - but honestly who cares...Is this really a family car? As far as driver and passenger, the bucket seats wrap around perfectly and offer plenty of support for those high speed turns and a very progressive thinking lumbar support system. There are some audio options to play with, but despite my passion for music and car stereo installs, I have to admit, I'm more psyched about the killer exhaust note than tunes - I could almost care less.

The only down note to anyone now totally revved to get themselves into on of these cars is the very limited production run - Waiting lists are already huge and growing every day, so if you're planning on attempting to get into one, stop hesitating, go like NOW or get ready for next year. Finally, despite the very attractive 27,000 dollar base price, please don't kid yourself...Dealers aren't stupid when it comes to understanding supply and demand - it obvious which one of these there's alot of...and since car wise, there is only a little, don't get your hopes up as far as color and style are concerned - it's slim pickins AND that comes on top of the premium dealers are tacking on...just like the rebirth of the T-Bird (you know, 40 thousand dollar car transformed into 70 thousand dollar car, at least here in New York) be prepared to take a little bit of a beating from your friendly smiling Nissan dealer - he/she knows when there's premium to be had, and therefore you should plan on shelling it out. It's been a wild couple of years for Nissan - just when you thought they were close to dead, they introduced a stunning new Altima to spice things up- this helped rejuvenate the struggling Motor Company for sure. Now with the re-emergence of a brand new "Z" rest assured, this is one hell of a car, and great way for Nissan to make their Re-Entrance. Bravo Nissan on making such an incredible little animal, this is one true sportscar that you just won't want to miss!!! Now I'm just waiting for my own to come in!!!!