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Up Close and Personal With the New Nissan Z, One of New York's Star Attractions This Year

When we first heard it was time for Nissan to finally replace the 370Z, we all felt a sense of excitement but also ever-consciousness about the somewhat sorry state of affairs in the company's upper management.
2022 NYIAS Nissan Z 23 photos
Photo: Benny Kirk
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The next Z-car had to be something extraordinary for Nissan to be taken seriously as a mid-range sports car manufacturer. Well, until the day we can get behind the wheel of one and take it out for a spin, we'll have to reserve most of our judgments.

But on first impressions alone at this year's New York International Auto Show, we're impressed with what the final product looks like. Marketing hype videos and TV advertisements often make a car look better on-screen than it does in the flesh. Happily, this is an affliction that doesn't affect Nissan's new Z car.

Nissan was cordial enough to bring along two new Nissan Z's with them to 2022's New York International Auto Show. One in an aggressive yet subtle Seiran Blue or the positively eye-catching Ikazuchi Yellow.

Two of the colors most prominently featured in advertising and PR press releases, ostensibly because they pop in a way that other colors in the rage simply won't. The level of previous Z-car DNA present with the new Z car is plain to see in this latest edition.

Nissan Z 2022 New York Auto Show
Photo: Benny Kirk
It's as if bits and pieces from previous Z-cars over the years found themselves transported onto a modern chassis and blended together to form something that both stands out on its own but also indisputably worthy of being parked alongside its ancestors for promo photos, at least as far as aesthetics are concerned. For those not in the know, the new Nissan Z will be offered in two bespoke trim packages called the Sport and Performance editions.

With both editions on display here in New York, there's a sense the new Z-Car is capable of appealing to two different sets of performance drivers. One with a six-speed close-ratio manual gearbox on offer as standard and a nine-speed automatic available for those who desire a more long-distance continent-crushing GT car instead.

Whether you're blitzing track records of older Z-cars or making a mad dash at the Cannonball Run record, the new Z-car has a drivetrain suited for just about any performance application. Powering this drivetrain, no matter the edition, is a 400-horsepower three-liter, twin-turbocharged engine good for a sprint from zero to 60 miles per hour in under four seconds.

The more track-oriented Performance package incorporates a bespoke-tuned multi-link suspension and beefier front brakes with four-piston front calipers compared to the Sport Edition's paltry two.

Nissan Z 2022 New York Auto Show
Photo: Benny Kirk
With available SynchroRev computerized RPM matching and clever limited-slip differential available for the Performance pack, there's no reason to suspect this new Z-car is a wet noodle on the track.

Not to say the automatic variant doesn't have its own set of bells and whistles as well. Launch control functionality is available exclusively with a nine-speed automatic. It's a move that some heel-and-toe enthusiasts may find perplexing.

But let's be real, the world's best launch control is often your own right foot. As for the interior of the new Z-Car, there's a sense Nissan was well aware of the Z-Car's interior shortcomings of the past. As miserable as some of their earlier interiors may have been.

Say what you will about the 350Z and 370Z, but their interiors weren't all that much better than your average Maxima or Altima. This is not something you'll find inside the new Z-car. With plush Alcantara-lined seats, an eight-speaker stereo system from Bose, and an available eight or nine-inch infotainment screen depending on the specific model, it makes for a sports car with just enough luxuries to satisfy most tastes.

Nissan Z 2022 New York Auto Show
Photo: Benny Kirk
With a starting price somewhere in the neighborhood of $40,000, the new Z car is priced at the lower end of performance-oriented two-seater sports cars and the higher end of average two-door passenger cars.

A pretty sweet middle ground deal if you ask us. But the Z-Car doesn't exist in a vacuum, you know, and rest assured that prospective buyers will also check out the Toyota Supra or even models in Nissan's Infiniti luxury division whilst also checking out the Z-Car. Whether it can compete or not remains to be seen.

Check back for more from our coverage of the 2022 New York International Auto Show here on autoevolution.
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