The bloodline
Being
the most prestige sports car in Japan, Nissan’s Z-cars has a
long history of success. The first Z-car, 240Z, was born in 1969
and immediately stormed the world with its beautiful shape
styled by Albrecht Goertz, strong performance from a 150hp
2.4-litre straight-6 engine and reliability that shamed the
contemporary British sports cars. Of course, Japanese kind of
value for money was also a crucial factor. 240Z was the first
Japanese sports car succeeding in overseas market.
In 1978, the Z-car was upgraded
into the second generation, 280ZX. It was longer, 2+2, more
luxurious and more powerful (2.8-litre inline-6). Though losing
the driver appeal of the original car, it was the most popular
Z-car I saw among the 4 generations.
280ZX was replaced by 300ZX in
1984. The third generation car continued evolving into a
luxurious GT while upgrading power - now came from a 230hp 3.0
V6 turbo. It became the first 150mph Japanese sports car. A
mid-life makeover in 1987 introduced a rounder body and an
optional 24-valve V6 (normally aspirated and 190hp though).
The fourth generation debuted
1989 kept the name 300ZX, implying the lack of capacity
increment. However, this generation was probably the greatest of
all, not only had a sophisticated styling that made Porsche 944
almost ugly by comparison, it was mechanically superior to
contemporary rivals. Power came from a 24-valve V6 with
twin-turbo good for 300hp, it could sprint from 0-60mph in 5.6
seconds and topped more than 155mph. Faster than direct-rival
944 while handled nearly as good. It even had a 4-wheel steer
system.
Unfortunately, the burst of
Japanese economy bubble and the slump of global sports car
market led to the death of Z-car in 1996 (or a couple of years
later in Japan), without any replacement. Fans had to wait for
many years until seeing the rebirth of Z-car...
350Z - back to basis
Nissan boss Carlos Ghosn knows
why the last 300ZX failed - it was enhanced by too much
technology (virtually everything the contemporary Nissan knew),
hence too expensive. It was no longer affordable by the majority
of young customers. Recalling the early history of 240Z found
its successful formula was actually good performance/handling at
an affordable price. Therefore Ghosn decided to build a
back-to-basis fifth generation Z-car, make it simple and price
it aggressively.
How
simple? the new Z switches back to 2-seater format as it did in
first generation. Its V6 gets rid of turbochargers, relying on
increased capacity (by 500cc, hence giving the name 350Z) and
reduced weight of the whole car (130kg) to achieve the same
level of performance. The 3.5-litre V6 is also much cheaper to
build, as it is shared by various other mass production models.
Similarly, cost is also reduced by building the new Z-car on the
Skyline V35 (Infiniti G35) platform, sharing the same
suspensions and many other components.
Despite of the large percentage
of common parts, the new 350Z looks 100% an individual model.
Its styling was chosen among proposals submitted from different
studios. Again, the American studio won the hearts of product
planners at headquarters. What about ours? probably not. Unlike
the sleek and even feminist expression of the last 300ZX, the
new car looks muscular, brutal and therefore harder to swallow
at first sight. Observing from the front, it is not unlike a
tank, with a flat front-end surface and an odd rectangular
mouth. Very special but controversial. On the other hand, the
high shoulders, swooping roof and curvy tail were obviously
influenced by (if not copied from) Audi TT - the design classic
that influenced so many modern cars. Overall, the 350Z does
deliver a sense of occasion by its unusual shape and elegant
finishing, like the Audi. It just fails to convince me that it
is beautiful. Maybe I am outdated, but my basic instinct tells
me a beautiful sports car must look sleek and light in the way
many classic Ferrari did.
The
alloy-effect interior also resembles Audi TT. General design of
the dashboard is simple, stylish and driver-oriented. Controls
are placed ergonomically, especially the 3-gauge instrument
which moves together with steering column during adjustment
(like Porsche 928). Another nice detail is the big LCD screen at
the center console which hides behind a flip cover. Plastic,
however, is poor in quality.
Is it comfortable to sit in?
yes, there are generous room for two and the bucket seats are
supportive. Visibility? poor, blame to the TT-influenced high
shoulder line (hence small windows) and thick C-pillars.
Storage? bad. Although 350Z is still a hatchback, its luggage
room is ruined by the adoption of tower bar over rear
suspensions.
Motor and Speed
The motor powering 350Z is
VQ35DE, essentially the same unit used by Skyline 350GT /
Infiniti G35, Altima and Maxima. It displaces 3498cc and is
equipped with continuous variable valve timing. Compare with
Infiniti G35's, it gets freer intake and exhaust as well as
sportier cam profile to gain an extra 27 horsepower and 14lbft
of torque. The end result is 287hp and 274lbft, not far off from
the twin-turbo 300ZX (300hp / 283lbft). The new Z is also 130kg
lighter and has a 6-speed gearbox instead of 5-speed.
Start the
motor, instead of turbo lag, you can feel the large-capacity V6
has so much low-end grunt in the way like American muscle cars.
Tremendous torque across a wide power zone pushes the car
strongly towards 60mph in less than 6 seconds. Car And Driver
even recorded 5.4 seconds and 0-100mph in 13.9 seconds, edges
out the 200kg-lighter Honda S2000! It will top 155mph, yet this
is just electronically regulated. With an excellent drag
coefficient of 0.30 (0.29 with optional spoilers), it has a
potential of 165-170mph! 350Z is undoubtedly the fastest car in
its class.
What cars does it compete with?
because Nissan price it aggressively (thanks to sensible cost
control by Le Cost Killer), it rests on the same price range as
Audi TT, the low-end BMW Z3 and Honda S2000, all are at least a
league lower in terms of power and performance. Base model with
least equipment even approaches the price level of Mazda MX-5
and Toyota MR2, unbelievably cheap for a 290-horsepower sports
car! call it "Bargain of the Century" won't be too exaggerate.
Any weakness? purists may
criticize the big V6 for not free-revving enough, as it won't
spin happily beyond its 6600rpm redline. Some may be
disappointed by its lack of aural appeal, because the V6 does
not produce very attractive noise. That’s an urgent and high
pitch noise, but without the addictive quality of BMW straight-6
or Alfa V6.
350Z is equipped with a new
6-speed manual gearbox supplied locally by Jetco. This is a good
tranny, with short-throw shifter and a crisp gearchange that
delivers a good mechanical feel, if not as slick as S2000's.
Chassis and Handling
As I have already mentioned,
the chassis of 350Z comes from Skyline sedan, sharing the same
so-called "Front-Mid engine" layout and all round multi-link
suspensions with forged aluminum arms. The biggest difference is
that the Z-car is a 2-seater, thus wheelbase is shortened by
200mm. The chassis is also stiffened by tower bars over both
front and rear suspensions. According to Nissan, its engine is
positioned behind the front axle and is even more rearward than
that in the Skyline. Also according to Nissan, its 53:47 weight
distribution were actually better than pure 50:50 because, when
the car is accelerating, weight transfer will lead to 50:50.
From my
viewpoint, Nissan’s marketing people are just playing tricks.
The engine is not positioned behind the front axle, just its
center point is. This, in addition to the short tail and lack of
rear seats, results in the 53:47 weight distribution, actually
worse than Skyline (52:48). Moreover, no engineers will say
53:47 were better than 50:50. On the contrary, many will tell
you they want a bit rear-bias, because when the car is braking
into corner (ie, the moment balance is most crucial), weight
transfer towards the front will lead to perfect balance.
No wonder some road testers are
not impressed by its chassis balance. When 350Z is being driven
below its cornering limit, it does feel very sporty. Fat tyres
generate good grip. Long wheelbase (despite of shortening, it is
still an unbelievable 2650mm!), wide tracks, stiff chassis and
firm suspension setting result in excellent stability. In other
words, it rolls very little in corners and runs on highway like
an arrow. Its optional Brembo brakes are powerful stoppers. Its
steering is weighty, responsive and delivers decent feedback,
although quite lifeless at straight-ahead position. The car
turns into corner crisply, just in the direction the driver
points to.
Nevertheless, push it harder
towards its cornering envelop, especially in tight corners, the
350Z will easily understeer and run wide. Where’s the balance?
where’s the neutrality? where’s power slide? sorry, there are
some sedans from Munich balance better and are more fun to drive
at the limit.
The 350Z is not a comfortable
cruiser. Despite of aluminum suspensions, the firm setup leads
to rather harsh ride over road irregularities. If you ask for
comfort, Audi TT should be a better choice. If you want good
handling, S2000 has an upper hand. If you can pay considerably
more, of course, Porsche Boxster 2.7 is always the first choice.
Anyway, 350Z is still the King of performance and perhaps the
better overall choice if you consider its outstanding value for
money.
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