Despite the financial hardship it has been through lately, Nissan has confirmed it does not intend to drop its 370Z or GT-R. New generations may be still far away, but there’s at least the new 400Z, which is currently using the 370Z body for Nürburgring tests.
Judging from the new bumper with round openings, the engine of the car needs more air than that of the 370Z. The latter went into its sixth generation in 2008, powered by a 3.7-liter non-turbo V6 engine rated at 336 hp (250 kW) and 365 Nm (270 lb-ft) of torque. The Nismo performance version offers 355 hp (265 kW) and 374 Nm (276 lb-ft) instead. The transmission can be either six-speed manual or seven-speed automatic, but the drive stays on the rear axle no matter what.
The 400Z can be expected to get the 3.0-liter, six-cylinder Infiniti Q60 S engine rated at 405 hp (300 kW) and 475 Nm (350 lb-ft) of torque. Chances are good that it may also get AWD (as a paid option).
Nissan engineers have repeatedly stated that a hybrid or purely electric car isn’t that hard to build, but might not end up too popular with the customers.
Either way, we won’t learn more until at least a couple years later.