It’s been eight months since Nissan unveiled the Z Proto, the prototype (hence the name) previewing the upcoming Z model that’s heavily rumoured to be called the 400Z, which means we’ve pretty much seen all we had to see through the officially-provided photos.
Despite the saying “a picture is worth a thousand words”, there’s only so much still images can show us. Thankfully, a new walkaround video by Drive 615, who had exclusive access to the Z Proto in the United States, has just given us perhaps the closest look we’ve ever got at the retro-inspired sports car.
The first thing that jumps out to us when looking at the car in video form, is just how pretty its silhouette is – from the long bonnet, roofline, to the sloping roofline with its iconic katana-shaped accent trim, all taking inspiration from the original 240Z.
From the official photos, the Z Proto frankly looked rather basic overall. We liked the clean looks, but many people have rightfully criticised it as being a bit “boring”. In the walkaround video though, the camera does manage to capture some more minor details on the body work that you may have missed, such as the significantly flared wheel arches and discreet character lines.
The rear end of the Nissan Z Proto also looks incredibly gorgeous in the video, especially with the direct sunlight bringing out details such as the carbon fibre weave on the bumper insert. With the prototype being repositioned, we also got a glance at how the tail lights illuminate while braking and reversing.
Moving inside, we also got a closer look at the special three-dimensional piping on the seat backs, as well as the three analogue gauges on top of the dashboard, all covered by their own little suede hoods on top.
Although this is still a prototype, the entire interior already looks pretty much production-ready, as it even comes with proper door cards with cupholders. Don’t be surprised to see the entire interior pretty much replicated on the actual production Nissan 400Z.
Byron, the video host standing at a massive 196 cm tall, also noted that despite its small-ish appearance from the outside, the cabin is actually surprisingly spacious, with “a couple inches” of headroom to spare.
As we’ve mentioned repeatedly, the car you’re looking at is still a prototype, so there’s no mention of any technical details in the video. However, it is heavily rumoured to feature a 3.0-litre twin-turbocharged V6 engine lifted from other Infiniti models, purpotedly making 400 hp (where the 400Z name comes from) and 500 Nm. At least, we got to hear it a little bit in the video.
Nissan hasn’t officially confirmed the production of the upcoming Z car just yet, although the camouflaged mule has already been spotted multiple times carrying out validation tests on the public roads.
The Nissan Z Proto was also previously spotted completely uncovered in a logistics hub, which further added onto our confirmation bias that it’ll actually be made into an actual production vehicle. And just in case you can’t tell, we’re really, really excited.
