Nissan Fairlady 400Z to get auto gearbox, convertible?

Nissan has confirmed that its upcoming Z sports car, the Fairlady 400Z, will be offered with both a six-speed manual and an automatic gearbox. This came straight from the mouth of Z Proto’s chief product specialist, Hiroshi Tamura, who told Cars Guide that “we are going to have a two-pedal version and some appropriate performance.”

Speaking of performance, the automaker said the Z will be powered by a twin-turbo V6, but didn’t specify info such as engine displacement nor power output. However, rumours swirl around the use of the VR30DETT 3.0 litre V6 that’s currently powering the Infiniti Q60, offering up to 400 PS and 500 Nm of torque.

It will be a pure sports car with no form of electrification, so powertrain advances Nissan has made with the Infiniti Q60 Project Black S will likely not see the light of day, at least not for the Z.

The VR30DETT mill in the Q60 was paired with a seven-speed transmission with Adaptive Shift Control, sending drive to the rear wheels (an AWD version was also available). Tamura said around 35% of 370Z owners prefer to row their own stick, so demand in both camps are substantial enough for Nissan to continue offering the three-pedal version.

As for the convertible model, Tamura said “this is still an ongoing consideration,” adding that the subject was still up for debate. The regular coupe will be the focus for now, but at the same time Tamura acknowledged that convertible Z – like the 300ZX and 370Z – also form part of the Z car DNA.

The new Z sports car is expected to be launched sometime in 2022. Should customers demand a Nismo-tuned variant, Tamura said, “why not?” Unfortunately for European customers, Nissan has no plans to sell the new sports car in the Continent.

“A shrinking European sports cars market and specific regulations on emissions mean that Nissan was unable to build a viable business case for the introduction of the production version of the next generation Z-car in Europe,” Nissan said.