Nissan Improving 350Z for '07
We’re big fans of Nissan’s Z car, with its well-balanced 3.5-liter V-6 and short-throw stick shift. According to Nissan, next year’s model will be even better: New colors, including a gray convertible top for the 350Z Roadster, plus active head restraints and various “performance enhancements” are in store, according to a press release.
OK, that last part – say again?
A Nissan spokesman was mum on full performance details, which he said the automaker will release sometime before the ’07 Z goes on sale in January. But he did say next year’s car will employ a second-generation version of Nissan’s award-winning VQ35. That’s code for the 3.5-liter V-6 found in the 350Z, not to mention the Altima, Maxima, Infiniti G35 and several other quick-stepping cars.
Other upcoming-engine details we learned include new variable valve timing on the exhaust valves – the previous system only worked on the intake ones – and a 7,500-rpm redline instead of the current 7,000-rpm redline. Additional materials aim to increase rigidity and lower friction, too.
No power figures have been released yet, but considering the second-gen motor makes “300-plus hp” in the upcoming 2007 G35 (the ’06 model tops out at 298 hp), we think the 2007 350Z could make 315 or 320 hp, about 6 percent over the current car.
Sure, that increase is peanuts compared to the double-digit leaps achieved by Ford’s 4.6-liter V-8 and BMW’s 3.0-liter inline-six in their recent redesigns (for the ’05 Mustang GT and ’06 330i, respectively). Blame it on Nissan’s current V-6, which is such a first-rate engine it left little room for improvement.
Want more? The aftermarket is happy to shoehorn countless performance doodads into customized 350Zs for balls-to-the-walls power, and one blog reports a supercharged 382-hp 350Z GT-S could arrive from Nissan in 2007. As factory warranty and supercharged rarely fall in the same sentence these days, we’d certainly welcome such a car.
[Source: Nissan]
