2,000-HP Nissan Z runs its fastest quarter-mile in history

Emelia Hartford, a car aficionado and tuner, took a brand-new Nissan Z and swapped it for a VR38 six-banger borrowed from a GT-R Nismo. After some tuning – or, rather, all of it and then some – the car zapped 402 meters in 7.75 seconds.

Cicio Performance handled the rebuild. They replaced pretty much all the internals, reinforced the subframe and the transmission and installed four-link rear suspension for a more confident launch.

Once it got on the dyno, the Z slammed it with 1,925 PS (1,899 hp / 1,416 kW) before nearly breaking free and ruining the workshop. It was fortunate enough to stay in place, though. On the track, it took Hartford multiple attempts to set the record, but she did it in the end. The car took regular breaks to cool down, and on one occasion it lost traction shortly after launch. Hartford said she used her drift skills to get it back on track and brake it to a manageable speed. During her winning run, she exited the quarter-mile at 291 km/h (181 mph).

Just don’t think the story is over. Encouraged by this result, Emelia now wants to break out of the seven-second bracket and hit six seconds in an even more extreme Nissan Z.