Nissan’s replacement for the 370Z will no longer be a V6-only model. The automaker is looking to make the new sports car have wider appeal and for that they’ll need lower capacity engines.
However, at the same time, it was the 3.7-liter V6 that made it popular in North America, an important market so the obvious answer is offering multiple engine options.
CarAdvice spoke to Roel de Vries, Nissan’s corporate vice president and global head of marketing and brand strategy, at an official event organized in Japan.
He confirmed multiple engines were on the way, although his view was that “an engine is never a need or must, because what you need is to deliver on what the car stands for and if the 370Z stands for real performance and real driving I think it doesn’t need a V6 to do that.”
Moreover, now that it won’t be a one-engine model, they’ll also have to change the name. The letter “Z” will obviously remain, but what will they combine it with. De Vries said “In my opinion the displacement as part of the product name is a bit behind us. [So] Naming might also change, in the past when we all grow up, the bigger the engine the more expensive the car, the faster it would be. Everybody has left that, because it’s not about displacement of the engine, it’s about what the engine could do.”
The source suggests a 370Z replacement could arrive within the next two years.
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