It's difficult to avoid the fact that the Nissan 370Z->ke3043 is getting pretty long in the tooth. The design is a warmed over version of the 350Z,->ke520 which dates back to 2002, and the performance it offers is hardly cutting edge at this point. So it shouldn't come as too big a surprise that Shiro Nakamora, Nissan's->ke62 senior vice president and chief creative officer, recently came out and said that the whole Z car->ke2077 idea needs to be rethought, and that a 390Z probably isn't going to happen.

One of his biggest complaints is that the 370Z is simply too expensive, essentially the same reason why the 1991-1996 Nissan 300ZX died off even before a replacement was ready. He seems to have a point as well, a 370Z costs roughly the same as a Mustang GT,->ke428 but comes with 100 less horsepower and no significant weight advantage. On the subject of the future of the model, Nakamora said "The GT-R is more evolution. I feel Z needs more revolution than evolution." One possibility that was strongly hinted at was that of making the car smaller and lighter.

Continue reading to learn more about Nissan's next-generation Z-Car.

Why it matters

Nakamora went on to say that a new Z car based on the wonderfully retro 2014 Nissan IDx Freeflow and 2013 Nissan IDx Nismo concepts was a possibility, although not necessarily a financially viable one. Whatever form the car takes, it seems that Nissan is looking to take on the Toyota GT 86->ke4085 (Scion FR-S),->ke3820 as Nakamora mentioned that he admired the car. He also mentioned that the 86 is very similar to the original Z car, the 1970 Datsun 240Z, which is absolutely true. The cars are almost identical in terms of size and weight, with the newer car obviously putting out a bit more horsepower. So an 86 fighter might not be the direction that the Z cars were headed before, but it's something in the Z DNA.

2015-2016 Nissan 370Z Nismo

Read our full review here.