New 2023 Nissan Z: A purist sports car swansong

Jonny tests Nissan's last purely ICE-powered 2-seater with a growling V6, manual gearbox, and rear-wheel drive. But are we right to sulk about its omission from UK forecourts?

Nobody really noticed when the late 370Z was pulled from the UK market in 2020, chiefly because hardly anyone actually bought it. Despite being praised by numerous motoring magazines for its pure, visceral driving experience, and front-engined rear-drive layout, it would be fair to say that the 370Z flopped when it came to the UK sales charts. Even in its most successful year, 2010, the last Z failed to crack 1000 units a year in the UK.

Regrettably Nissan eventually sat up and took notice of the British public’s apparent apathy towards their sporty coupe, deciding that we didn’t deserve a successor. Are we really missing out though? Well, the Late Brake Show has travelled to the Angeles Forest in Southern California to sample the all-new 7th generation Z and find out if it’s simply a parts-bin special, or something us Brits are entitled to be jealous of.

Based on the 20-year-old architecture of the 350Z, on the face of it the new Z appears to be destined for failure before it’s left the starting block. Reassuringly though, Jonny argues that the new car feels like more than the sum of its parts.

As he stretches the Z’s legs along a series of beautifully paved banked turns, Jonny is impressed with the short wheelbase, hunkered down feel of the new Z, although he surmises that given the slightly softer suspension set-up Nissan has positioned it as more of a grand tourer this time.

Equally impressive is the new 400 bhp V6 housed under that elongated bonnet. Borrowed from Infiniti's Q50 (albeit with two whacking turbochargers bolted on) the 3.0-litre manages to bolster its peak power with a flexible 350Ib ft of torque. Hitting 62 mph in circa four seconds, Jonny proclaims that the Z is deceptively quick. Plus, he’s also partial to the V6’s bark at higher revs.

On the inside, it’s a typical Z car affair: cheaper plastics teamed with a general lo-fi ambiance – Jonny quips “The reversing camera looks like something from a Gameboy”. However, the synthetic materials fail to ruin the experience, and if anything, help to act as a guilt-free blank canvas for enthusiasts to customise the car to their heart’s content.

The well-judged retro exterior design further redeems the whole package. And with three different models ranging from the basic Sport (featuring 245/45/18 Yokohama Advan Sport rubber) to the racier performance model shod with wider and stickier Bridgestone tyres, there’s a Z for most tastes and budgets.

Starting from just $40,000, the new Z would cost around £31,000 if it was offered in the UK – a full five grand less than the cheapest Ford Focus ST. Upset yet?

The good news, for those of you itching to bag a new Z in Britain, is that Nissan are building right hand drive variants for the Japanese and Australian markets, so importing one could be an option down the line. To get Jonny’s final verdict and find out if he thinks the Z would work on our rainier shores, you’ll need to watch the video above.