Quote:
Originally Posted by Andaesthetics
Let's talk pricing. I've been seeing online and in comments on social media a lot of people think the new Z will be $50k+. I completely disagree and let me share why. Feel free to share your opinions as well.
The Z car is and has always been known as an affordable sports car that is obtainable by any enthusiast. They even said this in the Z Proto livestream reveal. That being said I believe if the new Z was more than $45k INCLUDING options, it would not be successful in todays market. I see the new Z competing mainly against the likes of the Mustang GT and the Supra. Starting at under $40k you get great V8 performance from the Mustang GT. But of course the head to head will be with the Supra.
The 6-cyclinder Supra ranges from $50-55k. If the new Z was in that price range it would need to be a better all-around car for it to beat the Supra in sales. This means, when a consumer is looking at buying one of the two, they're comparing which has better performance, better styling/design, better interior finish, and better driving experience. Let's break down each of these segments:
-Performance: the new 2021 Supra now has 382HP. The new Z is rumored to have 400HP. Yes that is 18hp more but we also don't know how much the new Z will weigh. If it weighs more than the Supra, that extra hp becomes negligible.
-Styling/Design: the new Z will be heavily based upon the Z Proto as they said it is over 90% production ready. Based on online reviews and outpouring criticisms from enthusiasts, the styling seems to be on the fence for a lot of people. Some love it, some hate it. Some like most of the new design, but hate other parts of it and vice-versa.
-Interior: the new Z has a much nicer, more modern interior compared to the current generation, but is it nice enough compared to the Supra? Yes the Supra has a BMW interior, but regardless it is still a nice interior.
-Driving Experience: manual option. This is the one category that the new Z has the definite advantage in. I think any enthusiast will agree the new Z wins in this segment.
Other things to take into account is the fact that Sports cars sales have been dwindling drastically in recent time. If the current gen Z is priced at ~$30k starting, ~$40k with full options and still barely selling in today's market, why would they put out the next gen Z that is a whole $10k over? Yes, there are improvements to the new Z, however I don't see those improvements equating to a ~$50k+ price tag. I can see the new Z Nismo starting at $50-55k, but not the regular gen Z.
If they're smart, they'll put out the next gen Z starting at an undercutting price around $35k and optioning out to around $45k. Why? Because undercutting the current market competitors will almost force consumers to go with the new Z. At the end of the day price is what ultimately determines the cars we buy and having a great performing, modernized, refined sports car at an unbeatable price would dominate the market.
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Personally, I absolutely disregard the modern Supra. The fact that it is a BMW 100% completely turns me off. And if it doesn't turn off others I know, I'd just point them to some YT videos on the perils of slightly older BMW repairs.
The Supra may be competitive in the new car space that attracts short-term owners, but many long time Supra fans who value a car that performs AND has legendary Toyota reliability will be turned off by the BMW Supra.
OK, so rant over.
I agree with your pricing assumptions, but let me point out even more positive points:
The current Q60 3.0T starts at $41K MSRP.
This includes rear seats, dual screen infotainment, presumably a more expensive interior, and other obligatory Infiniti doo-dads.
The fact that the base 3.0T is 300HP leads me to believe a few things:
Nissan will NOT call the new Z "400Z". I think people are assuming the new Z to be 400HP. I think Nissan will choose either "300Z" because the VR30 is here to stay and will come in many different tunes with many different available outputs. It's a very flexible engine. If Nissan doesn't choose "300Z" they'll likely chose a "Z" term of some other sort, but not 400.
The VR30 is available in 300HP and 400HP. There is not a very big cost difference between the two, nor are either drivetrains much different from 300HP to 400HP. As far as I know, Nissan turns up the boost on the 400HP VR30 and uses turbine speed sensors on the turbos to monitor turbine speed. No big, expensive parts differences between the two engines.
The Proto Z has the turbine speed sensor on the trio gauges, leading me to believe Nissan will definitely have a 400+HP Z available on initial rollout.
But, don't be surprised to see the lower output VR30 in a "base" model Z. Sure, it might have less HP than the VQ37 (although, I don't see why Nissan couldn't tune up the base VR30 to similar VQ37 HP) but it does have better torque available for a wider rev range.
Also, it didn't stop Infiniti from releasing the 3.0T 300HP even though the previous VQ37 cars outperformed the base VR30. So, wouldn't surprise me if Nissan played the same pattern this time with the Z.
Thank goodness we won't be getting that horrid MB 4 banger!
Lastly, those who are fretting over the front bumper grill. I wouldn't put too much into it, to me the front bumper grill looks wildly "under baked". No matter if someone likes it or not, it seems like an unfinished design detail. Way to elementary of a design to be an actual production piece. I'd expect a few more details to be added to the front bumper cover to make it look better.