Nissan Z: A cultural icon

My very first up close and personal encounter with the modern Nissan Z, in this case a Z33 350Z was at the Japanese Super GT Series round held at Sepang International Circuit. We were guests of Nissan and had come to witness the pioneer season of the modern Z as it replaced the R34 GTR. We met Nissan drivers like Michael Krumm, Satoshi Motoyama and Richard Lyon and had a close look of the race car version of the Z. That definitely left an indelible mark, seared in my heart and mind. To see both race and road cars come alive, compleyte with the smell of hi-octane racing fuel, burnt clutch and rubber, plus the adrenaline on the track was truly very special.

Years later, having driven countless Z’s (Z33 & Z34 generations) in various trims and modified states of tune, I knew I wanted one. The sweet chassis, the snarky VQ V6 engines, that connected driving feel, few cars at the Z’s price point came as accessible. It was impressive, very composed and confidence inspiring. I fell in love particularly with the Nismo 370Z. Its sharp looks, aggressive stance and surprisingly delicate balance had me head over heels for it. Sadly, I had a sportscar from a rival brand at that time and couldn’t justify (nee afford) another 2-seat sportscar.

Fast forward today, and I’m sitting behind the wheel of the latest RZ34 generation Z, in Nismo trim. The design harks back to the progenitor, the Datsun (Nissan’s brand for export markets at that time) S30 “Fairlady” Z from 1969 to 1978. The original Z was conceived by Yutaka Katayama, famously known as Mr. K, for the booming overseas export markets of Nissan.

Mr. K was the first President of Nissan Motors Corporation USA and was heavily influenced by American culture. Mr. K envisioned Nissan’s shift from producing humdrum economy cars to sportier and sexier offerings like the Z. Hence you understand why the Z is massively popular in the United States and other key export markets of Nissan. It signaled a shift for Japan, its global image from staid to sexy. Boring to bombastic.

The Z became so synonymous with Japanese exoticism and mystery that it starred in The Fast and The Furious Tokyo Drift, Kill Bill, and even played the main character in its own anime, Wanggan Midnight (with its own video game series as well), well before social media and over-tourism became the norm in Japan.

I even made friends with Z Project Tokyo when I went to see the 2018 Tokyo Auto Salon and the club of gentleman Z enthusiasts took us for a cruise from Odaiba to the legendary Daikokufuto truck-stop in Yokohama, Umikhotaru PA, the man-made island in the middle of Tokyo Bay and finally back to Tatsumi PA on the elevated Shuto Exporessway. That spawned a local group in the Philippines known as Club Fairlady Z Manila of which I am an honorary member (despite not owning a Z). I’ve also made friends at Nissan’s GHQ, and have been fortunate to visit twice.

Every year, Z enthusiasts the world over get-together for Z-Con or Z-Convention, the world’s largest Nissan Z owners and enthusiast gathering held in the United States. Z owners the world over travel to Z-Con as pilgrimage to connect with like-minded people. It truly is an automotive cultural icon.

For the modern Z, gone is the legendary 2.4-liter L24 straight six, replaced instead with a 3-liter V6. Gone also is the natural aspiration inhaled through carburetors, replaced by turbocharged wizardry and direct injection in the VR30DDTT. This endows the NISMO Z with 420 horsepower (20 more than the standard Z) and a very broad 520 Newton-Meters of torque (again, 45 more than the standard Z) from a low 2,000rpm to 5,200rpm. This makes the Z very responsive on track and tight winding roads, but also makes it very forgiving for newbie drivers and a relaxed highway cruiser with its 9-speed automatic transmission driving the rear wheels, the sole transmission option available.

The NIsmo’s footwork is extensively uprated as well: the NISMO tuned suspension rides firmer, more alert and responsive. Rolling stock consists of 19-inch RAYS Engineering wheels wrapped with sticky Dunlop SP Sport Maxx GT600 rubber, sized 255/40R19 up front and even meatier 285/35R19 rears. With that much torque and urgency available, the Z will benefit from even wider tires especially at the back for better stability. The large 6-piston front brake calipers come from Akebono, one of Japan’s largest OEM brake components supplier. If you are ever in doubt about Akebono’s provenance or reputation, look no further than McLaren’s P1 hypercar, where Akebono supplied the brake components.

Slide in and tight-fitting RECARO Sportster seats wrapped in NISMO colors (red and black with the NISMO logo) embrace you, and a meaty 3-spoke steering wheel finds your eager hands. Paddle shifters behind the spokes of the steering wheel for the 9-speed auto give a reassuring caress to your fingertips. A sportscar after all, is a sensual experience.

A 12.3 inch fully customizable digital instrument cluster TFT-screen allows you to display whatever information you fancy (vehicle speed, engine RPM, turbo boost, engine and transmission oil temps, coolant and differential temps). On the center console, as a throwback to the original Z, and all previous generation Z’s, three additional auxiliary gauges show turbo boost, turbo speed and battery voltage, canted towards the driver. There’s a 9-inch touchscreen display for the infotainment system with wired Apple CarPlay and Android Auto too with a powerful 8-speaker BOSE Surround Sound System. Nissan & BOSE also included the Active Noise Cancellation system (ANC) which eliminates exterior noise by generating sound waves to cancel them, and Active Sound Enhancement (ASE) which generates low frequency sound from the speakers to enhance the feel and sound of the VR30DDTT.

I’m large of girth, so the seats can be uncomfortable until I finally find a position to settle in. The space is quite tight, but as the road opens up, the drive comes together, and the cramped interior begins to feel intimate, as is proper with any romantic relationship.

The Z is very direct: it rides hard, stops equally so, and corners like it’s on rails. Yet the Z feels organic and agile, unlike its bigger brother the GTR, which can feel somewhat unnatural (the GTR’s ATTESA AWD system shuffles power front to back to aid cornering which makes the GTR move somewhat unnaturally). The Z also feels intuitive, allowing you to build up your confidence to push harder, faster and more committed to each straight, braking point and cornering speed. It is definitely tail-happy if you’re inconsiderate and ham-fisted with the throttle, more so if you select Sport+ on the drive mode and the engine and transmission react with greater alacrity. The Z requires a firm but steady hand to push it. It doesn’t suffer fools (and foolish drivers) lightly. It lives for B-road blasts and track-days with a capable driver at the helm.

As a daily, it’s surprisingly compliant, more so if you are of smaller build than myself. The boot is surprisingly useful, there’s decent fuel consumption (close to 9km / liter in combined city and highway drives) and being an automatic means you can just crawl at a snail’s pace in traffic. On long drives, it’s not too loud, tramlines only moderately (considering the sizeable tires) and has very good noise insulation.

But, and the big but here, are the roads. I live in Taguig and often drive south for work and the roads were fine. But I drove it on EDSA and worse Libis-C5 and it was an agonizing ordeal because the roads resembled a warzone.

The best place to drive it to would probably be going towards Subic Bay, in and around El Kabayo, Naval Mag and Binictican with their super smooth but winding roads perfectly cambered and very grippy. Afterwards, stay the night and head over to Clark International Speedway in in Clarkfield to really push the Z to its limits (or yours) before heading home.

The NISMO Z is the type of car you buy new, hone your skills and grow old together. It’s infinitely tuneable (the aftermarket has a plethora of parts and upgrades available already from mild to wild), and yet is perfectly fine box-stock. It has the street-cred and panache, the driving involvement, excitement and ultimately, universal respect among all car enthusiasts.