A GT-R is more like 90K and up these days... USD. That kind of price doesn't make sense for a Z... and it would also hurt the GT-R market. Unless that price is going to go up, too (yet again).
I read a lot of Japanese car magazines (well, don't read as much as look thru the pics and hope for English
). There is always a lot of speculation, even a lot of Photochops. It's fun to read, but it doesn't mean much.
You'll also note that Sam Mitani in Road & Track usually just copies this same stuff into his column there. Along with pictures - and suggests that it's from his own mind or from R&T. No credit given to the original Japanese writers. That's ridiculous.
I really have to wonder about this MT article... I think it's wishful thinking on the part of somebody who isn't even part of Nissan.
But nevermind the engine for now… that's a secondary question. The first question that Nissan product planners have to answer is what platform the next Z will be based on. Is the FM platform to be evolved or abandoned? If it is to be shared with the G families again (aka Nissan 250/370GT, FX, M), then that sets pricing and dimensions, the general weight, all the major hardpoints, as well as most of the engine family. That's the big question here that we don't know yet.
A recent spy picture of a "mule" G in Germany showed pretty much the same car as today... the brakes were all in the same place - which is usually a giveaway as to changes on mules. However the muffler was transverse. The rear suspension was the same track, however the front had been increased very slightly (just like the M). This is the only thing we have to go on so far... but it's mere existence suggests that a new family of cars will start to arrive in 2 years. Remember the cut-up 350Z with the 370Z parts underneath that was caught driving around Los Angeles? That type of thing is what we need to see soon so that we will know what's coming.
On my blog
DrivingEnthusiast Blog | Motor Trend predicts a 530Hp Twin-Turn Infiniti G, I wrote two posts on this subject, covering my own predictions. Which revolved around an update to the current FM platform, and a 3 liter twin-turbo of 400 HP. Since Infiniti recently trademarked a couple of new logos, amongst them "G30t" and "G35h" - I felt that means a 3 liter (remember the VQ engine currently is found in displacements ranging from 2 liters to 4) twin-turbo and the existing M35 hybrid engine in the G.
Nissan has already revealed it is experimenting with a supercharged 2.5 liter DOHC 4 as a fuel economy strategy... that could be their "EcoBoost" which could then a base engine for the next Z. In fact the next Z, and again I'm out on a limb here, could have as many as 4 engines all shared with the next G (as the two engines today are). A base 2.5 supercharged, a 3.7 liter as today, the 3.5 hybrid, and the 3 liter TT. Imagine that - and it would be easy to do if and only if the platform is shared again with the G. There are also savings to Nissan because sharing cuts much of the expensive emissions and federal testing because of the shared platform. Remember, fuel economy has to improve significantly over the next few years... there will be changes to engine lineups whether we like it or not.
Are you ready for a Z with 4 engine options, instead of two? And a lower base price?
Disclaimer: like I said in my blog posting, I'm out on a limb.