Nissan working on new Z sports coupe for 2021 – will be called 400Z?

The Nissan Z sports coupe (or known as Fairlady Z in Japan) is one of Nissan's successful rear-wheel-drive sports car line ever produced, spawning a legacy of over 50 years. Currently, the Nissan 370Z on sale is well over 11 years old and has passed its glory days against more modern and established rivals in the market.

Last month, Nissan reportedly filled a new trademark featuring the letter Z in Canada, Australia and New Zealand, which sparks rumours of an all-new Z-car on the work. The logo features a throwback design found on the original Nissan 240Z that took over the sports car market by storm in 1969.

The trademark filing suggests to us that Nissan is planning to make the new Z a global sports car similar to the Toyota GR Supra and Toyota 86, rather than a Japan-only market car. Reports out of US suggests dealers have seen the car and confirmed a retro design that pays tribute to the Z family heritage.

The new Z sports car has been rumoured to graduate to the 400Z name – with the number denoting the engine’s displacement, its biggest ever. At the same time, there are also reports saying the number will denote engine horsepower instead, a break of tradition in the Z naming nomenclature. If the rumours are true, the Infiniti sourced 3.0-litre V6 VR30DDTT twin-turbo engine could find its home under the bonnet.

A performance-oriented NISMO version for the boy racer could see the Z becomes a 500Z. If anything, expect the Z to be built on Nissan’s FM platform rather than a new one from scratch, as two-door coupe aren’t exactly a stellar profit-making product. It might be unveiled in late 2020 or early 2021, but as sources from Autocar UK are a little up in the air at the moment with uncertainty caused by Covid-19 pandemic, take this with a grain of salt.