I literally bought a car that is slower than 2 of my other cars because I knew it was going to be more fun, and it is. I still like my other cars but the slowest one is definitely the most fun to drive.

I know guys who drive Miatas on road courses. The car handles and brakes well even if it doesn't have much power. They have fun and huge smiles on their faces hitting the apexes just right, getting heel-and-toe shifting just right while many other cars walk away from them on the straights.

From a monetary value perspective I don't think it's a bad value at all. Nor will those who end up buying it. It may not have the best bang for the buck in terms of acceleration but so what? My guess is many owners of the Z will not race it or track it, just like many owners of Mustangs/Vettes/911s don't ever race or track them. Most buy a car because they want a particular car and not usually for acceleration or performance for the $. One of the main reasons I've avoided Vettes so far is that I find their interiors suck and are plasticky (haven't sat in a C8 yet) even though some of the later Vettes are arguably better bangs for the buck than my GT3-RS

Just to point out stock AWD red sports put down 360-380whp in a car that weighs close to 4k lbs.

Tuned these motors are putting down 450whp and 5xx tq.

Put that motor in the new Z that should weigh around 3300lbs it's going to be fast especially tuned.

I understand what you're saying now. Someone will blatantly just say, yeah my SUV is faster than a sports car. I get it. But if you look at the many facets of it, he does have a point. Some people may only have an opportunity to have 1 car, even though that same person might actually like these sports cars but practicality comes first, so a performance SUV is almost all the time the next best thing.Also very true. I have a very fast car. But i know there's cars out there faster. But in the speed bracket i'm in, the chances of me running into someone that's faster, that i don't know, or that's willing to actually play around to see who's faster, is slim to none. But yes of course they're out there. Someone is always faster. I think what he's trying to say is, "hah brand new sports car, with 400hp, yet my SUV is faster". It's a very blunt way of approaching the topic but i'd be a hypocrite if i said i never did that on this forum lol.

Fact is, if you're a car person, performance will always come first. Speed is very important. So of course we compare each other's cars by how quick they are. That's just the nature of the beast.My above comment could be applied here too. You're right not everyone cares about going fast. However if someone is buying a nissan Z, or a red sport, or whatever we're talking about now, straight line is either the 1st or 2nd priority. People who buy these cars don't go to the road course dude. I would say 5% of the owners do. The rest people just play on the street, or make their car faster TO GO fast straight. That sums up about 90% of the car community, no matter what car you own.Nothing that some suspension work and brakes can't fix. You can't take a sports car and go off roading with it, take it on the trails, drive through winter snow storms. Get suck in 12" of snow. Carry 5 people, and haul groceries at the same time. An SUV, especially a performance SUV can do it all from an average car enthusiast point of view.Red sports are a failure if you buy new. If you buy used, i guess it can be a good alternative to other cars in it's performance/price bracket. It's a glorified japanese rental car. It's like a taurus SHO of infiniti. A reg Q50 has no styling, old infotainment and lackluster powerplant. The red sport is just the same car, with a bit more power, and some CF accents, and better wheels. Nissan hasn't done well in this market for a LONGGGGG TIME.

The only thing that's keeping them relevant in terms of performance is the GTR. And yes that car is amazing. The only japanese car i would buy today.

If the red sports had a better trans, it'd be faster. That's really the only thing stopping it from being good. The trans sucks big time. And it should have been more than 400hp stock.

There's a guy on youtube who converted his Q50 from auto to manual. Even though auto these days are faster than manual, it was the opposite for him. The manual made his car faster, although his shifting phucking sucks.

And not to mention the turbos go early on those cars. So that's another thing to be concerned about when buying those cars used. That's why they're so cheap.

I'm gonna address only the SUV mods you speak of - yes mods can help. The issue is this - good luck getting the center of gravity as low as a good sports car and good luck getting decent downforce to help with cornering and braking. It's still gonna be a tall vehicle with minimal (or even negative) downforce at speed. You're never going to make a 911 or a Vette out of a vehicle like an Explorer.

Like i said nothing suspension can't fix. There are a lot of cars out there, not known for handling, doing just fine on courses. None of us are professional race car drivers.

An owner of an explorer tuned, is not going to push the SUV to break lap records. He/she will be going to the track for fun for their personal pleasures.

Even vette owners can't even bring 10% of the car's potential on the track. And the car is setup to break lap records right off the showroom floor. Some owners don't even know how to access the performance management menu.

I have to agree with most of this. Most of the people I teach think they can drive as fast and as smoothly with one hand as they can with two. But given a professional driver the tuned and modded SUV isn't going to touch a stock GT3 RS (for example). It just won't. Not saying someone can't have fun with it, but a sports car it will never be. And if it's lowered and modded for track use then it loses some of the utility for off roading (while still being better offroad than a 911 or Vette, obviously). It can't do both things exceptionally well with a given suspension setup.

But you're right that most people can't push their stock vehicles to even 60% of the vehicle's limits. The most fun (and frickin scary at times) I ever had driving was driving my GT3 RS on the Nurburgring before shipping it back to the states. I never got close to 100% of the car's potential. I use my track days for personal improvement not for reaching the level of a Lewis Hamilton.

A GT3 RS is basically a race car for the street lol.

To make your comparison more fair. An explorer, tuned for some extra power, and some suspension work with a PRO driver, will probably run a faster lap time than an average joe with little to no track experience in a GT3 RS.

Btw, someone i know that attends our car meets, has a dropped trackhawk. It's lowered only 1 inch, and still has more ground clearance than most sports cars. So it's still a capable "truck". The owner just made the truck more of a fast street truck instead of keep it stock. And he can still drive it all year round. He's just not rock climbing with it, nor will the truck do it stock anyhow. Suspension work doesn't always equate into slamming the car/truck to the ground.

There's a reason why performance SUV's are popular now. Because performance is being implemented into the DNA so it can do many or all things. Daily, performance, all weather, trails, etc.

Going up against a good driver in a modified Miata is a bitch on the track. They get away with things that would put the average car into the wall.

They do everything average and need massive amounts of power that cars don't to hit 12 or 11's.


Honestly the biggest reason I bought a SUV instead of a sports car is because the streets look like this in Chicago:






You need a SUV or you're gonna slowly destroy that car/rims/underbody from bottoming it out

Well of course, power to weight. It's still a versatile vehicle. Cars i became more appreciative of as i gotten older. That's why i went for a big sedan with a V8 for a daily. Could have gotten another 2 door sports car, like the mustang etc. I wanted something more comfortable, bigger, spacious, with power.
lol i hear that. Jersey is bad too, depending on where you travel to. The ghetto's are just like that. But during my weekend cruises, or my daily commute, i don't run into roads like that thank god haha

06 Z crew. 144k miles on it. Love the car. Was never a fan of the 370's.

Next car for me will be a GTR. Lets hope my Z can last 5 more years haha

people like to talk down the z's and say how much better mustangs are etc. but really the Nissan Z/ Infinity G/Q front midship chassis is really quite good, it was so well designed back in what 2003 that it's only needed minor changes for the last ~18 years. Compare that with what mustang was doing with solid rear axles back in 2003 (lmao atrocious). The only thing that really held back the Z's was the weak deck, high compression motor. With a new motor that can handle boost I really have high hopes for this car. While every car is phasing out manuals, Z is staying true, its gonna be a true drivers car.

People down talk Z's because they are cheap budget sports cars. I don't mean to offend anybody by saying this either, it's just the truth behind the down talk. So are Mustang GT's but those are more widely accepted because American icon.

The original G35/z33 350z were refreshing back in 03 but by 08 they were done and outdated. 6MT and Brembos were nice. Now Infiniti's are associated with the riff raff. Ghetto fabulous ****** mobiles. They're cringey cheap Nissans. The Z32 300zx were also nice in their day.

370z's are SO CRINGE nowadays.

IMO the new Z must look better and perform better than the supra for it to get the proper nod.

You can still get manual Porsche's, Vettes, Stangs... etc.

No one in this thread will buy the new Z.

The new 3.0t's sound like ASS inside compared to the VQ.

What's so cringe about a 370z? It's still a good looking and fun car that can be bought used for a good price.

personally would rather get an infiniti that can seat 5.

I missed 2 threesomes in my life bc they didnt both want to sit in the front.

I agree i won't say it's cringe but the market for those cars are so small.

It's in a very odd situation, especially in the times we're in now. I say when the 350Z first came out, that was one of the hottest cars for under 50k. 2 seater, RWD, manual, with a v6.

But it's like the car grew up, but the mentality didn't lol.

I do agree with the other guy though, i don't think it'll sell well. Only loyal nissan and/or loyal Z enthusiasts will buy this car. Talking about the 400Z now.

Someone brand new to cars or want something different than what they're coming from won't get a car like this. 2 seater RWD. They'll start looking at used corvettes like the other guy said. Or go with a performance sedan.

Having a spacious performance car is the new trend now. Performance SUV's are a new trend now.

Like you really have to WOW the audience for them to buy a japanese 2 seater that's RWD.

I'm considering this car vs 2021/2020 supra. Coming from a 350z, I hope nissan does not disappoint me. hopefully car is revealed in full this year.

Renders starting to come out

need to do better. Might confuse that with a FRS

^i like the rear, but the front end is too soft and civilized, headlights look like they belong on a nissan versa

This. The rear looks a little like the old 280ZX. The front looks generic Nissan.

Looks like an ugly cross between the Toyaburu and a Mustang

They could have done a lot better job. I think the 370z looks better tbh

lmao damn man

Looks way too much like a GTR/350z, would be disappointing if they came out like that. They need more 240z body style.

Teaser posted by Nissan. They're showing the car on Sept 16th.

Hopefully this is signs for a big come back.

They also need to revive the Maxima as a sports sedan, or is that strictly for Infiniti?