2011 Nissan 370Z Hybrid on the Table

How often do you get to see a hybrid version of a high-performance car? Fairly rarely we would say but, given the current economic situation, things are by far different from the last few years. The best example comes straight from Japanese automaker Nissan, also know as the owner of the pretty popular 370Z, who is now planning to develop a hybrid version of the last-generation release of this particular model.

The reason? We can't tell for sure at this time but the single possible explanation would be surely more or less related to the economic chaos. According to a report 370Z.com, the hybrid flavor of the car is expected towards the end of 2011, with NEC to supply the Japanese manufacturer with lithium-ion battery packs for the car.

A thing worth mentioning is that the car will be powered by a petrol engine with a displacement of 3.7L but, just like many other hybrid models out there, will be connected to an electric unit. The whole system will rely on a two-clutches configuration, as well as on a full-electric driving mode, especially addressed to city conditions when the 370Z can be powered solely by the electric powerplant.

Official figures are yet to be released but the aforementioned source writes that the hybrid can go as high as 35 mpg (6.7 l/100 km) in optimal city cycles.

This is all we got at this time, plus the adjacent photo which, as you can see, shows the hybrid logo on the front bumper. However, since there's not even an official hint that Nissan is indeed preparing a hybrid 370Z, we'll consider this a rumor and wait for some new data.