Nissan's storied Z sports car hits middle age this year, marking 50 years since the original 240Z reached the marketplace as a 1970 model. To celebrate, Nissan has rolled out a 50th Anniversary 370Z modeled after a 240Z that dominated Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) racing shortly after the car's introduction.
Offered in a pair of two-tone colour combos -- red on white and black on silver -- the 50th Anniversary 370Z's paint jobs were inspired by the liveries used by the Brock Racing Enterprises team that fielded that successful racecar.
Fittingly, Nissan will sell just 50 examples of the 50th Anniversary Edition Z car. It comes based on the Sport trim level, adding package-specific 19-inch wheels with red accents, a steering wheel trimmed in Alcantara and sporting a centering stripe, special seats wearing the 50th Anniversary logo and other cosmetic goodies.
Otherwise, the 370Z coupe is carried over from 2019 in base, Sport, Sport Touring and NISMO trims. All use a 3.7L V6 making 332 hp and 270 lb-ft of torque. Nissan makes a 370Z roadster too, which is covered in a separate buyer's guide entry.
Transmission choices are a six-speed manual with an optional rev-matching downshift function, and a seven-speed automatic. Note that the base model and NISMO are manual-only, leaving the two Sport trims available with the automatic.
Notably, Nissan has raised the Z's base price to $30,498 to kick of 2020, marking the first year since 2017 that the entry-level trim does not come with a sub-$30,000 price.
Even at its new price, the 370Z is a pretty great sports car value, considering one of its closest competitors is the Porsche Cayman. The Z's price also lines up nicely against the less-powerful -- but perhaps more agile -- Toyota 86 and Subaru BRZ twins.
Standard features in the base 370Z include Xenon headlights, LED DRLs, passive keyless entry, automatic air conditioning, Bluetooth, manual seat adjustments, leather steering wheel, shifter and parking brake, and tire pressure monitoring. There are also dark headlight and taillight lenses and black rear fascia, 19-inch wheels and a high-performance clutch for stickshift models.
Sport trim brings different 19-inch wheels, chin and rear spoilers, bigger brakes, a limited slip differential, upgraded sound system and heated side mirrors.
Touring Sport trim adds navigation, active noise cancellation, garage door opener, auto-dimming inside mirror, heated seats in leather and a subwoofer for the stereo. This is also where you'll find the rev-matching stickshift.
At the top of the is the NISMO trim, with Recaro seats in leather and Alcantara trim, a sport suspension, a front strut brace and a body kit.
Nissan's fuel consumption estimates are 13.3/9.3 L/100 km (city/highway) with the manual transmission and 12.6/9.3 when optioned with the automatic.
This vehicle has not yet been reviewed
