Nissan and NASA* Launch New Spec Z Race Series for 350Z

Before you go all Newt Gingrich on us, allow us to explain that NASA is an acronym for the National Auto Sport Association. With that of the way, we can now tell you that Nissan and NASA have just announced the creation of an all-new Spec Z racing series for all trim variants of the 350Z from the 2003-2008 model years.
The single make series has the support of Nissan's Motorsports division, which will offer a contingency prize program that rewards the top three finishers at each regional competition weekend with up to $850. The top finishers of the season will also be eligible for a prize of up to $6,500 in cash support.

Nissan 350 z

The Nissan 350Z is a two seat sports car that was manufactured by Nissan from 2002–2009 and marks the fifth generation (codename: Z33) of Nissan's Z-car line. The 350Z entered production in late 2002 and was sold and marketed as a 2003 model. The first year there was only a coupe, as the roadster did not debut until the following year. Initially, the coupe came in base, Enthusiast, Performance, Touring and Track versions, while the roadster was limited to Enthusiast and Touring trim levels. The Track trim came with lightweight wheels and Brembo brakes, but its suspension tuning was the same as all other coupes. The Nissan 350Z has been succeeded by the 370Z for the 2009 model year.

A Nissan Silva Coupe with a Schizophrenic Personality

In October of 2010 we brought you a Toyota Soarer / Lexus SC that had been transformed into an abomination with a Mercedes-Benz CLK DTM front end and a Nissan 200SX rump. It was bad, but I still liked it better than the snooze-mobile that was the ‘91 Soarer / CS.
Well, from the same website that brought us that automotive mullet comes yet another creation that’s been refashioned into something else. This time its a Nissan Silva. This particular freak of coach building features a Mercedes-Benz rear end (or at very least the taillights) and Nissan 350Z front end. The result is less than impressive.

No Really, this is a Mitsubishi Eclipse Spider and it's Powered by a Subaru Turbo Boxer!

Don't let the Nissan 350Z snout and the Infiniti G35 Coupe (JDM Nissan Skyline V35) rear end design fool you; the glitzy painted roadster model you're gawking at is in fact a JDM Mitsubishi Eclipse Spider - possibly a third generation model. But before you try to digest all that info let us quickly add that Paint Star's Tokyo Auto Salon project car also hides a Subaru-sourced 2.0-liter turbocharged flat-four engine under its 350Z-shaped hood. See the rest of the photos in our image gallery after the break.

Nissan 350Z Poses as a Porsche Panamera

[Updated gallery] The Tokyo Auto Salon is always a blast featuring all sorts of unique tuning proposals, like this here Porsche wannabe. When our Tokyo show man Phil e-mailed the above photo, we assumed it pictured a Porsche -possibly a Boxster- modified to resemble a Panamera Convertible. We were quickly proven wrong, however, when he sent over an image of the interior and some video footage revealing that the Porsche Panamera tune was actually a...masqueraded Nissan 350Z Roadster. More photos after the jump.

Nissan to Bring Historic Z Racers at the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion

As part of its year-long celebration of the 'Z' sports coupe's 40th anniversary, Nissan will display a series of historic racers at the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion, formerly known as the Monterey Historic Automobile Races, which takes place at the at Laguna Seca Raceway on August 12-15. The six Z racers of the past will be joined at the event by a number of vintage Nissan race cars including a 1970 Datsun 510 and a pair of 1985 Nissan GTPs. For more details about the display cars, hit the break for the official release.

Nissan 370Z - First Live Photos from European Gathering

It's only been a week since Nissan dropped the first official shots of the brand-new 370Z into the web and even though the sports coupe is supposed to make its first public appearance at the upcoming 2008 Los Angeles Auto Show that runs November 21 to 30, the Japanese automaker revealed the vehicle to a handful of people somewhere in Europe. We're not sure whether it was a closed media session or if Nissan showed the new 'Z' to a few of its European employees, but fact is that someone managed to take a few shots and post them on an enthusiast forum.


Aside from the different color of the interior, the 370Z seen here is in the same gray/silver metallic finish as the car seen in the press shots. You can check out those photos and read all the initial info that we have on Nissan's new Z coupe by clicking here.

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Via: The370Z

Video No2: Nissan 370Z First Drive with Interior Shots

Following on the heels of Motortrend magazine (check out the video by clicking here), Edmunds' Insideline has also released a video of its first encounter with the all-new 2009 Nissan 370Z after the Japanese firm invited a group of journalists to test drive a pre-production prototype model. If we'd like to make a short list of the most important changes on the 370Z these would include: the shorter wheelbase, the Infiniti-derived 3.7-liter V6 engine, the less fussy design and the better quality materials in the interior. Hit the jump to watch the video. -Continued

2009 Nissan 350Z Roadster Pricing Announced

Even though the new 370Z Coupe will be introduced at next month's LA Auto Show with sales scheduled to begin early next year, the roadster version of the current 350Z will continue to be available for an undetermined period of time. The only noteworthy change for the 2009MY 350Z Roadster concerns the addition of a new Moonlight White exterior color. The 2009 model is offered in three trims, Enthusiast, Touring and Grand Touring with prices set at $36,870, $39,220 and $41,570 respectively for models equipped with a 6-speed manual gearbox. -Continued

If you happen to prefer an auto box, in which case we'd advise you to look for a less sporty vehicle but if you insist, Nissan charges an extra $1,000 for the 5-speed automatic transmission.

2009 Nissan 370Z Partially Revealed on Need For Speed Undercover Game

The forthcoming Nissan 370Z is exactly what we'd call one of the best kept secrets of the auto industry. So it comes to no surprise that the 350Z's successor was partially revealed in one of the teaser films for the Need for Speed Undercover video game that is slated to be in stores North America on November 18 and in Europe on November 21. Along with the above screenshot that was sent to us by our reader Marcus, we also managed to take a few more shots ourselves from one of the videos on the NFS website. -Continued

If you happen to have any doubts that these pictures actually depict the new 370Z that is expected to be revealed at next month's 2008 Los Angeles Auto Show, just click here to see a screenshot of the Japanese sports coupe that was taken during an official Nissan presentation earlier this year.



Thanks for the pic Marcus!