The 2022 Nissan Z… Double Dose of Nostalgia and Adrenalin

Retro fever is hot for the all new 400 horsepower Nissan Z sports car.

When the Z stormed the US in 1970 it was a value and performance game-changer. The Datsun 240Z was a slinky fun to drive coupe with a primal appeal … powered by a 150 horsepower six-cylinder.

The new 2022 Nissan Z, due in showrooms next spring, updates the low-slung fastback styling with an understated – and some wags would say – unresolved front end design. But to this observer at the US sneak peak of the Z car in NYC last week, the side-eye headlights and gaping darkened front grill gives the car an appropriate shark-like menace.

The new Z packs a 400 horsepower punch with the added old-school delight of a standard 6-speed manual transmission. On this score too the legendary provenance of the new Z runs up against the sheer superiority of technology 50 years later.

The optional 9-Speed automatic, with a paddle-shift proficient driver will almost certainly best the manual in a flat out 0 – 60 mph run in under 4 seconds to challenge the current retro ruler Toyota Supra sports car.