The Nissan 370Z is a product of bad timing. No matter how cool Nissan makes the car (and Downshift Rev Matching is pretty damn cool), when the world's cupboards are bare, sports car sale suffer. Nissan originally wanted to sell 30,000 units of the 370Z globally, but that now been reduced to 10,000 - the number Nissan originally hoped to sell in Europe alone.

More after the jump

When Nissan launched the Nissan 370Z they hoped to sell around 30,000 units a year (including 10,000 in Europe). But the crisis around the world shows no mercy, and the company had to reduce the annual 370Z global sales to 10,000 units.

"The economic conditions we are facing today hit this kind of car much harder than those in other segments," Thomas Ebeling told Automotive News Europe.

Most of the units will be offered for the North American market, with only 3,000 units for the European market.

The 370Z will compete with models like Audi TT, BMW Z4, Mercedes SLK and the Porsche Cayman.

It is powered by a 3.7-liter VQ37VHR engine with VVEL (Variable Valve Event and Lift) rated at 332 hp at 7,000 rpm and 270 lb-ft of torque at 5,200 rpm. The engine is mated to either a 6-speed manual or a 7-speed 7-speed automatic with Downshift Rev Matching (DRM) and Adaptive Shift Control (ASC).