The New Nissan GT500 Z

Rest Easy GT-R, The Z Is Back In The Race!

Nissan CEO Ashwani Gupta alongside the new GT500 Z from the Livestream Premiere

When it comes to the news, Nissan has been heavy on the “hit or miss” energy lately. They would show off upcoming advancement in technologies, yet still commit to the use of CVT transmissions. They would revamp the entire line up, only for most of the said line up to still pale in comparison to their competition in their respective segments. There was even the controversy of the former CEO, Carlos Ghosn, that didn’t help the image or stock of Nissan in anyway. However, there come times where the news is good, maybe even a little exciting, and the news over the weekend that just passed was the reveal of the new GT500 machine to replace the GT-R in the Super GT: The Nissan Nismo GT500 Z.

GT500 Z front shot

GT500 Rear Quarter Shot

The Passing of the Torch From the GT500 GT-R (Left in Red) to the GT500 Z (Right in Black)

No official specifications were released just yet with Nissan being quite tight-lipped about them, but all vehicles in the GT500 class of the Super GT are powered by a turbocharged 2.0 liter 4 cylinder engine making up to 650 HP which is actually impressive considering the twin turbocharged 3.0 liter V6 in the road going car only makes 400 HP. If you take a look at the rear quarter shot above you’ll see the GT machine retains the tail lights of the factory car while everything else is of course spiced up for the track and competition of Honda’s NSX and Toyota’s Supra.

The GT500 Z (Left in Black) Leading On The Outgoing GT5000 GT-R (Right in Red)

Why is this anywhere near important enough to touch on? You’re probably thinking that one of these purpose-built racing machine won’t be touching public roads let your local driveway or garage anytime soon, but I’ll tell you that it’s because this is news of growth for the Japanese giant. Frankly, Nissan has been in a funk between a CEO air mailing himself back home and stale offerings for an ever evolving market. Their flagship car has recently paid itself off with all of the research and development that goes into making such a car after being produced for what feels like the beginning of time, but the problem it faces now is it being nothing new or having nothing more to offer when it’s rivals have gone through a platform or two. At one point the GT-R was the underdog of sports/supercars, punching at and even sometimes beating cars above its price range. Give it time however and it eventually became one of the villains instead of dying a hero with its pricing currently sitting at a large chunk of the cost of a moderately sized house. This is important because it’s sort of the passing of the torch from one car that held it down as the representation of the motorsports pedigree that Nissan wields proudly to another car that is one of the most known sports cars in history.

GT500 GT-R (Left in Red) Giving Chase to the GT500 Z (Right in Black)

The Z coming back as Nissans GT500 entry and possibly followed up with a GT3 spec variant in other venues of motorsport means plenty of advertising for a brand that’s looking to get back on its feet. Also, with Z being plenty more affordable that the GT-R with a base starting around $40,000.00 USD, it becomes a lot more attractive that its segment rival, the Toyota Supra, to buyers all across the spectrum. A quote from the current Nissan CEO, Ashwani Gupta, saying “The Nissan Z GT500 symbolizes Nissan’s spirit of taking on challenges and bringing excitement to life” starts feeling a lot more believable when you consider bring a road going Z into this economy isn’t exactly the safest move to make, but it shows commitment. Nissan might not be as far off bad as initially thought, especially after revealing a whole race car that seems ready to compete. Race cars, whether backed by a factory, manufacturer, or even made in a private garage don’t just happen overnight. It takes hours, days, even months or years of testing, research, finding out what works, figuring out what doesn’t, all of which need funding, and yet somehow Nissan worked it out for a machine that looks to get into the mix in the 2022 season of the Super GT. What exactly is the “Super GT”? It’s something that probably could use some explaining on Friday, so look forward to it because it’s actually pretty interesting with rivalries that trace back to before I was even born. Until then, stay posted on any updates or leaks as Nissan releases then (eventually). Personally, I’m just curious as to what turbocharged 4 cylinder engine that’ll be used in the Z’s promising looking return to racing.

~Cam

“Z Is Back In The Race!”