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2023 Nissan Z POV Test Drive Combines Delightful V6 Sounds With Satisfying Manual Shifting

Introduced in series-production spec last year, the all-new Z is coming stateside in due time. Pricing isn’t available for the time being, yet Nissan has let slip that a six-speed manual will cost you in the ballpark of $40k.
2023 Nissan Z POV Test Drive 6 photos
Photo: CP360 on YouTube
2023 Nissan Z POV Test Drive2023 Nissan Z POV Test Drive2023 Nissan Z POV Test Drive2023 Nissan Z POV Test Drive2023 Nissan Z POV Test Drive
The Z in the featured clip is anything but a base model, yet Nissan’s press fleet manager didn’t make the mistake of specifying the nine-speed automatic. What automatic? JR913E is how the Japanese automaker calls the torque-converter tranny, which is produced by JATCO under license from Mercedes-Benz. Indeed, it’s based on the 9G-Tronic transmission.

“You'll love the interior and exhaust sound in this POV review,” says CP360, the gentleman behind a YouTube channel specialized in point-of-view test drives. The fun part starts at the 4:17 mark with a few shifts at 6,500 revolutions per minute. The digital instrument cluster that’s standard on every trim level boasts shift lights and a tachometer in the center of the screen, featuring a redline of 7,000 revolutions per minute. In truth, Nissan limits the twin-turbo V6 engine of the Z to 6,800 revolutions per minute.

400 horsepower are cranked out at 6,400 rpm while 350 pound-feet (475 Nm) of torque are delivered from 1,600 to 5,600 rpm. Not bad for 3.0 liters of displacement, but on the other hand, Nissan still has to prove that its redesigned sports car is capable of keeping the Toyota GR Supra at bay.

Over in Japan, where the Z went on sale in April 2022, customers are offered no fewer than five trim levels. 5,241,500 yen is the starting price of the base configuration, which is approximately $40,550 at current exchange rates.

Remember the yellow-painted Z prototype that Nissan revealed prior to the series-production model? That car served as inspiration for the Proto Spec, the best-equipped trim level that Nissan offers in the Land of the Rising Sun. Be it the six-speed manual or nine-speed automatic, the Z Proto Spec for the Japanese market costs 6,063,200 yen or in the ballpark of $46,900.

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About the author: Mircea Panait
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After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well.
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