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Peter Lyon6 Dec 2014
NEWS

Nissan's next Z to go turbo-hybrid

Four-cylinder turbocharged hybrid power for Nissan's upcoming 370Z replacement

Bob Dylan said it best: the times they are a changing. To the surprise of the sports car world, Ford's four-cylinder Mustang will usher in a new era of American muscle cars and hit home the fact that car-makers can no longer ignore demands for lower CO2 emissions from the environment, governments and consumers.

Now out of Japan comes the equally shocking news that Nissan's 370Z replacement, which is likely to emerge next year simply called the Z, will be launched initially as a convertible and with a turbocharged four-cylinder hybrid powertrain.

According to Japan’s biggest selling car magazine, Best Car, Nissan has rethought its Z product planning to create a two-door sports car that will be “more of a global brand than it already is.”

To that end, Nissan apparently feels that a hybrid convertible is the future for Z.

“Its main market is the US, a market which demands competitively priced convertibles with loads of street cred,” a source close to Nissan told Best Car. “And that is what the next Z will be. Except this time, it’ll offer plenty of power while delivering nearly 20km per litre [5.0L/100km]!”

The source says that Mercedes-Benz will supply 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder petrol engines to Nissan, which will produce a petrol-electric hybrid system similar to Honda's Integrated Motor Assist (IMA) system.

Like IMA, it is expected to incorporate an electric motor mounted between the engine and transmission to act as a starter motor and generator, regenerating braking and deceleration energy to aid acceleration.

Equipped with a seven-speed automatic transmission, the new Z will reportedly produce 184kW at 6000rpm and 350Nm of torque between 1250 and 3500rpm.

While the four-cylinder turbo-hybrid Z will be aimed primarily at Europe and Japan, there will also be a more powerful Mercedes-sourced 3.0-litre V6 model directed mainly at the US. It's not yet clear if there will also be a cheaper, conventional naturally aspirated or turbocharged four-cylinder model to open the range.

But multiple powertrain choices won't be the only radical departure for Nissan's next Z, which as we've previously reported is expected to be available in open-top hybrid form as well as being cheaper, smaller and lighter than before.

Indeed, pricing is expected to start well below that of the current 370Z (from $56,930). So what type of convertible top will Nissan choose to keep costs down?

“Fully retractable power roofs are expensive, so we are seriously evaluating which type of top is more suited – a targa-top or a T-bar roof,” said Best Car's source.

Such a roof rethink will mean a radical redesign of the car’s signature silhouette, as seen in this image from Best Car.

With great new looks, a new roof design, a gutsy turbo-hybrid four, less weight and lower pricing, Nissan's next Z should offer the most street cred we’ve seen since the original 240Z of 1969.

Image: Best Car magazine

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Written byPeter Lyon
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