A Test Mule For The '400Z' Next-Gen Nissan 370Z Has Been Spotted

Want some excitement injected into your gloomy Autumnal week? This should do the trick - the car you see here is the next-generation 370Z. Well, kind of.

It may look like an example of the current Z with some extra holes drilled into it, but don’t be fooled - this is almost certainly an early test mule for Nissan’s next rear-wheel drive sports car.

It had been previously reported that the ageing 370Z - which has been in production for over 10 years now - would be replaced by a crossover, but it seems Nissan has stayed true to the Fairlady lineage.

Nissan’s senior vice president of design Alfonso Albaisa confirmed last year that he was already working on a successor. More recently, speaking to Car Throttle sister publication Auto Express, Albaisa said Nissan would “never leave this [the Z-car] alone”. Asked for his thoughts on a new 370Z, Albaisa said, “It’s easy to imagine”.

As for what’s going on under the skin of the Nurburgring mule, we don’t know a great deal. It has previously been reported that the next 370Z will use the 400bhp VR30DDTT 3.0-litre twin-turbo V6 used in the Infiniti Q50 and Q60 as well as the current Nissan Skyline.

How would your ideal ‘400Z’ look?