New car news

20 November 2008 - 12:00

All in your Zed

Ready the abacuses: we’ve got a whole load more numbers on the 370Z, Nissan’s new Z-car that’s set to reach UK roads early next year.

That ‘370’ is a good place to start: the Zed gets a heavily revised version of the 350Z’s 3.5-litre V6, bored out to 3.7 litres and putting out 244kW – 13kW more than its predecessor.

It’s a revvier unit, too – the 370Z delivers its peak power at 7000rpm and doesn’t hit the redline until a rather loony 7500rpm.

All that in a car that’s shorter and lighter than the 350Z: the 370Z weighs in at 1466kg, a significant drop of 155kg. It’s almost nine centimetres shorter both in the wheelbase and from bumper to bumper, a reduction that Nissan says should tighten up the Zed’s notoriously lairy handling.

There’s something exciting going on in the transmission department, too: the Zed’s standard six-speed manual gearbox gets something called ‘SynchroRev Match’ which blips the throttle automatically on downshifts to make you look like a bit of a hero driver.

There’s a seven-speed auto available, too – but why would you?

Prices are expected to rise slightly over the outgoing 350Z.