Last week, Nissan unveiled the new Frontier and Pathfinder with a livestream event known as the ‘NEXT Experience’ and it appears as though the production-ready 400Z made a brief cameo.
During the live stream found below, Nissan’s senior vice president of global design, Alfonso Albaisa, is seen standing in the company’s design studio and is surrounded by a host of new models, including the latest Pathfinder and Frontier, as well as the Patrol and all-electric Ariya SUV. The bright-yellow Nissan Z Proto unveiled to the world last fall is also featured, but, as one eagle-eyed member of the newnissanz forum pointed out, it’s what is behind it that is of most interest.
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It is thought that the car, finished in a light shade of blue, may be the production-ready version of the Nissan 400Z. While it looks largely identical to the Z Proto, it does have some differences, including different wheels and simplified side skirts, and appears to lack the concept’s Z badge on its rear quarter panel.
While there’s a chance that we have got our first glimpse at the finished car, it’s also possible that this particular vehicle is actually a clay model.
Regardless of whether or not this is the production model, an Instagram user recently snapped the Z Proto’s engine and it seems to be the same twin-turbocharged 3.0-liter V6 that powers the Infiniti Q60 Red Sport 400. In the Infiniti this engine is good for 400 hp and 350 lb-ft (474 Nm) of torque and while we expect it to find its way into the production Z, it remains to be seen whether it’ll have the same output.