Thursday 6th January 2005

Nissan launches 350Z GT4

More power, more noise, and a free Playstation

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At Autosport International this weekend Nissan will unveil a limited production, 300bhp edition of its 350Z coupe in association with Sony PlayStation’s ‘Gran Turismo 4: The Real Driving Simulator’.

Only 176 of these machines will be available in the UK at a price Nissan will announce at Autosport International. Pre-orders will be taken from 1 February at 3.50pm.

Nissan calls the car, "The GT4 is the zippiest 350Z Nissan has yet sold in the UK. The award winning 3.5-litre V6 motor gets revised pistons and camshaft as well as electronic exhaust valve timing control. This helps produce another 20bhp to give 300bhp developed at 6400 rpm – that’s 200 rpm higher than standard which says a lot about the revvier nature of the GT4. Top speed remains a limited 155 mph but at 5.8 seconds, the GT4 is even quicker to 62 mph than standard. It howls louder, too."

All 176 GT4s run on a new design of lacquered, five-spoke, 18" alloy wheel. Some will also sport an Ultra Yellow paint job that will cover 76 of the UK’s allocation. This special paint uses a high-luminance, high-chroma pearl pigment along with three layers of top coat to give a deep finish -- one that Nissan's overheated prose describes as, "a surface that looks like you could dive in and swim about. And forget eye-catching. This colour is eyeball-wrenching. In quiet contrast, the remaining 100 will be painted in stark Kuro Black."

The interior mirrors that of the 350Z GT Pack with two black leathered, electrically adjustable and heated seats as well as a 240W, BOSE-tuned stereo and 6 CD in-dash changer. Marking out each UK supplied GT4 will be a numbered, interior mounted plaque and in the boot, owners will find a gift box from Nissan containing a Sony PS2 and GT4 game.

The only time the GT4 will be shown in the UK before deliveries start in March is at Autosport International in what will be its European debut. As well as seeing the car on Nissan’s stand, visitors will get a preview of the game. And a chance to drive the car in virtual reality. Look for Nissan Motorsport’s Dakar Pickup above the crowds and a flash of yellow.

[DustyC]

If you got the game when you ordered the car perhaps it would sell even quicker!

I see the game release date has been postponed yet again. It was due out 1Feb, now its 25Feb.
Oh well, they have been doing that for over a year now, but I can wait.

I have the demo disc from BMW (thanks to a fellow PHer) and the Nurburgring looks fantastic.

[tuffer]

DustyC said:

If you got the game when you ordered the car perhaps it would sell even quicker!

interior mounted plaque and in the boot, owners will find a gift box from Nissan containing a Sony PS2 and GT4 game.

[carl_w]

I read this thinking it was going to be a 4WD version, like a Celica GT4, not some cheap tie-up with a video game.

[Don]

So its got 300bhp and can only manage a lacklustre 5.8 to sixty?

My BoxS has 260bhp and does it in 5.7 ...

Quick, yes. But not that quick.

Is the car heavy?

[DustyC]

tuffer said:

DustyC said: If you got the game when you ordered the car perhaps it would sell even quicker! interior mounted plaque and in the boot, owners will find a gift box from Nissan containing a Sony PS2 and GT4 game.

Thanks but I can read myself, hence why I suggest giving out the game when the car was ordered instead. Read on and you'll see that the pre-order date for the car is Feb1st, thats before the official GT4 release.

>> Edited by DustyC on Thursday 6th January 11:11

[dinkel]

Everytime I see one (passing by) it puts a smile on my face. Although I like an S2000 far better - looks, roadpresence - this is a good value for money car. It's cheaper than a Boxter is it

[Mr Whippy]

Hmmm, nice RX8 alike alloys on it...

What a lovely colour to buy it in too, hehe

Dave

[Alex]

Don said:

So its got 300bhp and can only manage a lacklustre 5.8 to sixty? My BoxS has 260bhp and does it in 5.7 ... Quick, yes. But not that quick. Is the car heavy?

Yep. 1545kg vs. 1275kg for Boxster S.

[tuffer]

DustyC said:

tuffer said: DustyC said: If you got the game when you ordered the car perhaps it would sell even quicker! interior mounted plaque and in the boot, owners will find a gift box from Nissan containing a Sony PS2 and GT4 game. Thanks but I can read myself, hence why I suggest giving out the game when the car was ordered instead. Read on and you'll see that the pre-order date for the car is Feb1st, thats before the official GT4 release. >> Edited by DustyC on Thursday 6th January 11:11

D'OH! Sorry.

[davefiddes]

So the car is so uninvolving and boring that they have to give you a video game to make up for the lack of excitement then?

[DustyC]

davefiddes said:

So the car is so uninvolving and boring that they have to give you a video game to make up for the lack of excitement then?

Or is it so great that the best driving simulator ever chooses it as the car they want their name on?

I dunno, I haven't driven one but it can be looked at both ways.

[neil.b]

You can have a 370+bhp supercharged one with 19" wheels for 30k.

See here;

www.pistonheads.com/sales/detail.asp?i=32697&s=299

Plenty quicker to 60mph

[richmeese]

Don said:

So its got 300bhp and can only manage a lacklustre 5.8 to sixty? My BoxS has 260bhp and does it in 5.7 ... Quick, yes. But not that quick. Is the car heavy?

5.8 is 0-62 (quoted)
5.9 is 0-62 (quoted of standard)

Standard Z's have been clocked at 5.3 0-60! There's probably faster ones still (ignoring neil.b's rocket!!)

not much of an improvement I'll admit.. but yeah.. Z is a heavy beastie. I think neil.b said it? but it's around 1540kg?

rich

[The DJ 27]

richmeese said:

Don said: So its got 300bhp and can only manage a lacklustre 5.8 to sixty? My BoxS has 260bhp and does it in 5.7 ... Quick, yes. But not that quick. Is the car heavy? 5.8 is 0-62 (quoted) 5.9 is 0-62 (quoted of standard) Standard Z's have been clocked at 5.3 0-60! There's probably faster ones still (ignoring neil.b's rocket!!) not much of an improvement I'll admit.. but yeah.. Z is a heavy beastie. I think neil.b said it? but it's around 1540kg? rich

And yet EVO magazine couldn't crack 6.0 seconds with a standard car. Strange

[dinkel]

Is the 0-62 really the thing you care about?

[neil.b]

Actually, adding the supercharger has meant more in the 40-100 range, its like hitting the frigging hyperspace button on the Millenium Falcon (Peak torque comes in around 4500rpm now). Its very difficult to put the power down in 1st gear, even with the 10.5 inch wide rear tyres.

Although more powerful, doesn't feel as immediately nimble as my M3s - if you don't properly balance it into corners it can be a bit wallowy. If I was keeping it, I'd spend some money putting some proper suspension on it.

But rest assured, you can make some seriously rapid progress on all road types. Just not in the damp/ice

[nickwilcock]

But what does the '4' in GT4 indicate? Personally I would have expected 4WD, not some kid's game in the boot.

[scaff]

nickwilcock said:

But what does the '4' in GT4 indicate? Personally I would have expected 4WD, not some kid's game in the boot.

Have you ever played that 'kid's game'?

700+ cars, 50+ tracks including the Nurburgring and Le Mans, and a very good physics model for the handling (not in GPLs class, but still very good).

Its far from a kids game.

[B10]

Can you get something else instead of the game. Not everyone plays computer games or wants to be sitting in you living playing with a toy steering wheel making brum brum noises. Yes I have tried them - the novelty soon wears off.

[nickfb1]

neil.b said:

You can have a 370+bhp supercharged one with 19" wheels for 30k. See here; www.pistonheads.com/sales/detail.asp?i=32697&s=299 Plenty quicker to 60mph

Selling it already, does seem 2 minutes since you got rid of the tiv, whats next on the horizon?