Originally Posted by Dustin@Z1

My concern about the next gen Z is this....

Look back at all Z's produced PRIOR to the 370Z. In all of the marketing and ads, the names were referred to as the ***Z (insert favorite model). They referred to the 350Z as the 350Z and the 300ZX and the 300ZX. But look at the all of the marketing materials for the 370Z. Nissan does not refer to it as the 370Z, they instead call it just the "Z".

This is not a very BIG thing, but if you pay attenion to Nissan's nomenclature. The *** (300, 370, 240) indicated engine displacement. If Nissan were to release a 1.8L Turbo 4-banger (based on the Juke engine), then it would be referred to as a 180Z. This would be HUGE since it would be the first time Nissan decreased engine displacement and would not follow tradition. However, if Nissan were to install a 2.4L turbo engine and called it a 240Z, it would have puriest outraged that they are attempting to redo the classic '70s 240Z.

With this said, if Nissan conviently DROPS the *** numerical nomenclature from the title and just refers to the model as the "Z". They can stuff whatever engine they want into the chassis and most people would not care (except the Z purests).

I vote Nissan breaks the mold and goes a performance oriented NA VK56-based V8. Make it the Mustang GT/ Camaro SS killer priced accordingly. This would allow it to be powered LOWER than the flagship GT-R, makes additional power, and would really excite the aftermarket with parts by having one of the first widely available V8-powered sports cars from Japan. Nissan has put a lot of effort in developing the VK56 engine both in V8 Supercars and the LeMans racing series around the world. The only missing part of the equation is stuffing it into a performance oriented chassis.