Driving report: Nissan Z MJ 2023: Nippon-Cayman

Tell me what you drive and I’ll tell you how you are. If you use this proverb, the Nissan managers have to consider us a rather fun-free contemporary. No, at this point there will be no discussion about the prohibition company, but a reference to the normative power of the factual. Because in this country you look for the Nissan Z in vain. The two-seater sports car is a real source of joy. Incidentally, the well -known American talkmaster, comedian and auton car Jay Leno also sees that, who is convinced that the new Nissan Z does a lot right.

Comfortable arguments? The Nippon Cayman, which weighs just under 1,500 kilograms, is equipped with a twin-turbo engine (internal code VR30DDTT) which, in a different configuration, provides propulsion for the Infiniti Q50, the Q60 Coupé and the Nissan Skyline. In the Z, the three-liter engine is 299 kW/406 hp and has a maximum torque of 475 Newton meters, which is already at 1,600 rpm and is preserved up to 5,200 rpm. That is 51 kW / 69 hp and 30 percent more torque than the predecessor 370 Z.

The Nissan Z is not a speed, even if it completes the standard sprint from zero to 100 km/h in 4.5 seconds and is up to 250 km/h fast. Apart from the fact that the latter in the United States is already waste, Japanese two -seater is about the cross dynamics, about driving fun. So the Nissan engineers packed a classic mechanical blocking differential on the rear axle and pushed the V6 engine behind the front axle. This front mid-engine concept promises agility. A cross strut behind the two occupants and a second in the front car stiffened the body. The performance model is delayed with Akebono-four-piston brakes and if you want it really puristic, take your switching happiness into your hand with the manual six-speed circuit. The alternative automatic nine nangeness comes from Mercedes and offers shift paddles behind the steering wheel.

Purism runs through the whole car. The Nissan Z is an archaic sports car of the old school, without much Chichi. The steering is direct and sporty, even if the data sheet suggests something else, real fun only begins at 5,000 rpm and lasts up to 7,000 rpm where the red area begins. What happens in between is an acoustic summit dance. The six-cylinder sucks, sips and saws screeching so full of devotion that one thinks that it is broken down by his own combustion symphony. The driver is similar, and if you want to move the Nissan Z really sporty, let the pistons swirl properly.

The intermediate gas baller when switching down is now also part of the good tone beyond the Atlantic. The appearance of the canary yellow athlete is in no way inferior to that of a sinfully expensive Italian sports car. Even in the celebrity spoiled Los Angeles, the street workers and young women in tight tops jump out of their flip-flops with enthusiasm when you appear with the Nissan Z. But the ultimate knighthood comes from a Latin American Mustang-GT pilot, which taps his baseball cap.

The good thing is that the Nissan Z also follows his peppy appearance. When it comes to the curves, the increased rigidity of the body is noticeable and the 19-inch customs mixing tires (Bridgestone Potenza S007 High Performance, P255/40R19 at the front and P275/35R19) help with the traction and steer. The fact that the Japanese technicians have remembered the engineering wisdom “if you can do something mechanically, then do it mechanically” when it comes to the locking differential is noticeable with every cornering. The 2.55 meter short wheelbase (overall the Z is only 4.38 meters long) helps with agility. Just so that we understand each other correctly, the Nissan Z does not reach the level of a Porsche Cayman in the curvial dynamics, but the tires whine too quickly. When the Nissan Z is required, the front car rolls and nods something when braking. But this is by no means annoying or worrying. The steering could also be a little more information, but the Nissan Zackert stacks the grin on the face of the driver. To do this, the monotube dampers beat themselves quite well on bad roads without negating the athletes’ sporty orientation of the Western bag athlete. And for a base price of $ 39,990 and $ 49,990 for the performance version.

The fact that the Nissan Z is on a elderly platform can be seen from the assistance systems, in which a stop-and-go function and a lane keeping assistant are missing. But honestly. If you drive such a classic sports car, you can do without this support. After all, the Nissan Z has an angle of the dead and a cross traffic warning. The cockpit fits the vehicle and plays with the automotive tradition: analog instruments inform the driver about the boost pressure of the turbos, the oil temperature and the battery voltage. The nine-inch infotainment monitor and two USB ports (type A and C) show that modernity does not pass this Nissan without a trace either. All that remains is the request to the Nissan managers: Please bring this car to Germany.