The Nissan 370Z is the latest in a line of Z-branded sports cars that date back to 1970. While the original 240Z was a focused sports machine, along the way Z-cars have been everything from hard-core sports cars to soft-riding boulevardiers more suitable for valet parking at the disco than diving down the corkscrew at Laguna Seca. Fortunately, over the years the disco dementia has been excised from the Nissan 370Z's DNA.
Introduced as a 2009 model and based on Nissan's versatile "FM" platform, the Nissan 370Z's VQ-series 3.7-liter V6 is located aft of the front wheels' centerline to improve weight distribution. Riding on a short 100.4-inch wheelbase and with an exceptionally wide track, the 370Z comes about as close to casting a square shadow as any car on the market.
Throw in short overhangs, however, and the result is a car with just enough sheet metal to cover its two occupants, a scant bit of cargo and all the mechanical bits. This is a sports car that's built to go; no one should buy a Nissan 370Z as a delivery van.
However, with the introduction of the 2010 Nissan 370Z Roadster, it also works as a tanning bed.
Upon introduction, the Nissan 370Z's V6 was rated at 332 horsepower and backed by either six-speed manual or seven-speed automatic transmissions. The manual transmission included a rev-matching feature that had the engine control computer blipping the engine's throttle just right to produce perfect downshifts almost every time. This is one time when an electronic feature actually makes the driver feel more involved with the car. And with the Nissan 370Z, a driver wants to be sutured to the road.v
With plenty of tires and plenty of engine, driving the Nissan 370Z brings with it the sensations of infinite grip and thrilling thrust. This is among the most involving cars to drive available at any price. But fortunately it's a Nissan Z-car and that means it's still relatively affordable. There are some Z-car traditions the Nissan 370Z is proud to carry forward.
And in the Nissan 370Z, anything that can be wedged in gets carried forward very quickly.
