Nissan's 86 beater?
Discussion
This sounds like someone being very artistic with a journalists licence. A "mini Z car", with FWD, Juke inspired styling and a 1.6 turbo engine, being built "mainly for China" doesn't sound anything like a car that Nissan would pitch against the Toyobaru.
I think it's just going to be a coupe-ised Juke, I wouldnt be surprised if they even use a Juke chassis, then all they'd need to do is modify that and save themselves a ton of money instead of developing a new chassis. Juke chassis and drivetrain, rebodied and sold cheap in China, easy money-spinner.
I think it's just going to be a coupe-ised Juke, I wouldnt be surprised if they even use a Juke chassis, then all they'd need to do is modify that and save themselves a ton of money instead of developing a new chassis. Juke chassis and drivetrain, rebodied and sold cheap in China, easy money-spinner.
Mastodon2 said:
This sounds like someone being very artistic with a journalists licence. A "mini Z car", with FWD, Juke inspired styling and a 1.6 turbo engine, being built "mainly for China" doesn't sound anything like a car that Nissan would pitch against the Toyobaru.
I think it's just going to be a coupe-ised Juke, I wouldnt be surprised if they even use a Juke chassis, then all they'd need to do is modify that and save themselves a ton of money instead of developing a new chassis. Juke chassis and drivetrain, rebodied and sold cheap in China, easy money-spinner.
This. Not a GT86 rival in the slightest, and wont be marketed as one, either.I think it's just going to be a coupe-ised Juke, I wouldnt be surprised if they even use a Juke chassis, then all they'd need to do is modify that and save themselves a ton of money instead of developing a new chassis. Juke chassis and drivetrain, rebodied and sold cheap in China, easy money-spinner.
Well, what's the successor to the 370Z going to be? With petrol prices, emissions-based road tax and EU targets the way they are, I doubt they're just going to drop their bored-out 4.0 V6 into yet another cut-down Skyline chassis - the 370Z is being priced out of its market spot of affordable grunt.
So they really need to make something more economical - i.e. a turbo 4-pot in a lighter FR chassis, say 1250kgs or less. I think it is the next Z that will be Nissan's GT86 rival - and despite being badged a Z, it will have more in common with the old 200SX than past Zs.
A coupe version of the Juke is a good idea, but I don't think such a car could become a Z, and I don't think Nissan would think so either. So that would probably sit beneath the new Z, giving Nissan a three-car performance line-up - an affordable, style-driven FF/4WD coupe with the 1.6T, a lightweight driver's FR coupe Z, with the same basic engine with a bit more power, and the GT-R supercar-beater flagship.
So they really need to make something more economical - i.e. a turbo 4-pot in a lighter FR chassis, say 1250kgs or less. I think it is the next Z that will be Nissan's GT86 rival - and despite being badged a Z, it will have more in common with the old 200SX than past Zs.
A coupe version of the Juke is a good idea, but I don't think such a car could become a Z, and I don't think Nissan would think so either. So that would probably sit beneath the new Z, giving Nissan a three-car performance line-up - an affordable, style-driven FF/4WD coupe with the 1.6T, a lightweight driver's FR coupe Z, with the same basic engine with a bit more power, and the GT-R supercar-beater flagship.
Wadeski said:
You're probably right. Even in the most important market (the USA) the 370z was far, far outsold by the 350z. Like 3 to 1.
I did see a lot of 370Zs when I was in Las Vegas recently, more in a single morning than I've ever seen in the UK - they seemed to be a total sales flop here. Now a new Pulsar GTI-R on the other hand, that is interesting, though extremely unlikely. Maybe one day the Japanese manufacturers will start building performance cars with their hearts in it again, and we will see some interesting cars from them, but even in their heydey, the Pulsar GTI-R was a mad car. I hadn't read the below when I posted, but it basically says what I was saying, I think
http://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/new-cars/new-nis...
http://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/new-cars/new-nis...
Mastodon2 said:
I did see a lot of 370Zs when I was in Las Vegas recently, more in a single morning than I've ever seen in the UK - they seemed to be a total sales flop here. Now a new Pulsar GTI-R on the other hand, that is interesting, though extremely unlikely. Maybe one day the Japanese manufacturers will start building performance cars with their hearts in it again, and we will see some interesting cars from them, but even in their heydey, the Pulsar GTI-R was a mad car.
Our taxes are wayyyyyy out of step with the usa and Japan. It's our green taxes that make it such an unnatractive buy.Plus its more expensive than the 350z
Mastodon2 said:
I did see a lot of 370Zs when I was in Las Vegas recently, more in a single morning than I've ever seen in the UK - they seemed to be a total sales flop here. Now a new Pulsar GTI-R on the other hand, that is interesting, though extremely unlikely. Maybe one day the Japanese manufacturers will start building performance cars with their hearts in it again, and we will see some interesting cars from them, but even in their heydey, the Pulsar GTI-R was a mad car.
I suppose the 370 arrived right in the teeth of the recession though. The 350 was one of those boom-years successes, like the RX8 I suppose. High running costs mean few people want them now and for all the talk of its improved reliability they seem to require an awful lot of maintenance second-hand.I actually think there's mileage in a 'new 200SX' - in the form of a four-cylinder version of the Z. Not difficult to do at all. Obviously it'd need different styling to set it apart, but other than that it would seem to me the hard work's already been done.
Gassing Station | Japanese Chat | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff