The Nissan 370Kzi Is a V-6-powered Snowmobile You can't Buy

TopSpeed

By Ciprian Florea

Published Feb 9, 2018

What's with all the snow-prepped Nissan recently?

Be honest now, how many of you thought that when Nissan first teased the 370Zki it was talking about a special-edition model or even some sort of update to the 370Z? As you probably found out, the 370Zki is nothing more than a convertible 370Z with skis at the front and snow tracks to the rear. Yes, it's a V-6-powered snowmobile. It's definitely cool, but far from what Nissan really needs right now. And let's face it, cars and crossovers with snow tracks are getting a bit old. Not to mention that Nissan has built quite a few in recent years. Unless it's planning to open a museum or something, I'd say the Japanese would be better off doing something useful. Like a brand-new 370Z already!

And the 370Z required many modifications to become a snowmobile. For starters, Nissan had to remove the entire drivetrain in order to make room for the Dominator tracks. A custom lift kit had to be designed and engineered to lift the car an additional three inches off the ground. Custom mountings for the rear suspension springs and three-inch custom spacers for the snow tracks also had to be manufactured. The factory brakes were retained but the brake lines had to be rerouted and the exhaust system was modified.

Up front, the suspension was modified to accommodate the new ride height, and adaptors were made to allow the appropriate travel and rotation for the front skis. A front skid plate was added to prevent damage to the engine during high-speed drives through snow-covered rough terrain.

New visuals include yellow tinted headlamps (to resemble ski goggles) and a custom body wrap by Icon Image Graphics. The drivetrain remained unchanged, so there's still a 3.7-liter V-6 engine under the hood. With 332 horsepower and rear-wheel drive, the 370Zki must be a lot of fun. But it's still a concept you can buy and I'd rather have a next-generation 370Z (or whatever its name will be) anyway.