Clifford
04-13-2009, 04:48 AM
Technical briefings during a new car launch in Japan are a bit like going back to school. You are sat at individual desks, as the chief engineer of the project normally takes you thro.ugh a number of slides explaining the intricacies of the new car's design. I'm usually totally riveted, trying to catch ever word in between scribbling notes and sifting hype from fact. Then, of course, comes the marketing spiel. The positioning of the car, the average customer, PC or Mac, eggs fried or scrambled; boxers or briefs you get it. With lights dimmed and drone from the marketing exec, this often turns into a snore fest. "The earlier Z was marketed in the regions marked in orange on the map"; my eyelids fill with lead. A 12-hour flight, jetlag, Japanese coffee, the effects are brutal. But then, just as I'm about to drift off, the map ofIndia lights up ... "and in blue is where we will sell the new 370Z". WHAAA!! Daydreaming was I? Has someone had inadvertently pulled the wrong slide and stuck it in the presentation? Probably, because no one there denied it!
A quick flip through a Japanese Nissan dealership brochure, to equate the price of this car with that of the Teana already being sold in India, brings me to the rough and ready. Assuming Nissan prices it similarly, this could be the sports car bargain enthusiasts have been waiting for here. Especially since Nissan claims the Z is 20 percent better than the earlier car, the one I had earlier been totally besotted with!
2718
Nissan's agenda: meet in hotel lobby to drive out to the mountain roads around Mount Fuji. These guys sure have got their priorities right. The big V6 fires with a deep-chested BOOOM rattling glass panes in the lobby. Porters stop and stare, a pair of 20-somethings in mini skirts squeal in delight and an American tourist blurts 'baad asss' loud enough to get the attention of the security. This new edition ofNissan's famous VQ motor has a capacity of almost .four litres. Using variable valve timing, big bore pistons and a compression ratio of 11:1 (which might pose a challenge with Indian fuel), power coming out the rear end of the crankshaft is rated at a very healthy 332bhp.
Now 332bhp can be sort of hard to let out of the gate smoothly or modulate in traffic. But there's no leapfrogging or snatchy throttle responses here. The 370Z takes to Tokyo traffic like a duck to water, waddling right in. The steering feels light enough and visibility is good. In fact, apart from the fact that you have all that power under your right foot and the huge discs have enough stopping power to yank your tooth fillings out at these speeds, this car feels as ordinary as any.
A quick flip through a Japanese Nissan dealership brochure, to equate the price of this car with that of the Teana already being sold in India, brings me to the rough and ready. Assuming Nissan prices it similarly, this could be the sports car bargain enthusiasts have been waiting for here. Especially since Nissan claims the Z is 20 percent better than the earlier car, the one I had earlier been totally besotted with!
2718
Nissan's agenda: meet in hotel lobby to drive out to the mountain roads around Mount Fuji. These guys sure have got their priorities right. The big V6 fires with a deep-chested BOOOM rattling glass panes in the lobby. Porters stop and stare, a pair of 20-somethings in mini skirts squeal in delight and an American tourist blurts 'baad asss' loud enough to get the attention of the security. This new edition ofNissan's famous VQ motor has a capacity of almost .four litres. Using variable valve timing, big bore pistons and a compression ratio of 11:1 (which might pose a challenge with Indian fuel), power coming out the rear end of the crankshaft is rated at a very healthy 332bhp.
Now 332bhp can be sort of hard to let out of the gate smoothly or modulate in traffic. But there's no leapfrogging or snatchy throttle responses here. The 370Z takes to Tokyo traffic like a duck to water, waddling right in. The steering feels light enough and visibility is good. In fact, apart from the fact that you have all that power under your right foot and the huge discs have enough stopping power to yank your tooth fillings out at these speeds, this car feels as ordinary as any.