Nissan is holding a digital event on September 15th at 8:30pm EST to unveil the new Nissan Z Proto. You can watch the event live at TheNissanNext.com. Currently, the site only really allows you to register and setup a calendar reminder for the event. Presumably, Nissan will send out an email to all those who have registered with details regarding the livestream just before the event starts. However, Nissan has also posted a YouTube live stream on their channel that you can set a reminder for. Presumably, registering on their website will probably just give you a link to that stream when the event begins.
The event will be held at the Nissan Pavilion in Yokohama. Due to COVID-19 concerns, the official Nissan event will be a primarily digital event. Previously, Nissan was expected to show the rumored new Z car at the Los Angeles or Tokyo auto shows but circumstances have clearly changed. We will update this page with a link to the livestream from Nissan as soon as it is available.
Official Nissan Stream
Nissan will be streaming the event on their YouTube channel starting at 8:30 PM EST. You can go to that stream by clicking this link or by using the embedded video below:
ZCON Showing in Nashville
The Z Car Club Association made a surprise announcement in early September as Nissan released their Z Proto teaser video — the Z Proto will be unveiled in Nashville at the 33rd anniversary of ZCON. ZCarGuide will be attending the event and we will be providing as much live coverage as possible. Below you will see our YouTube live stream embedded on this page. You can set a reminder for the event so YouTube will let you know when we start streaming!
The ZCON event is listed from 5:30-9pm on the ZCON schedule. We will be getting to the site well in advance of 5:30pm so we can determine the best way for us to stream the event for those who follow our site and YouTube channel. There are some unknowns — we are not certain how much of the event we will be allowed to stream and it is possible that no videography will be allowed at all. We will communicate this as much as possible on our Twitter page which we also recommend you follow as we will be tweeting throughout the event as details emerge.
Follow us @zcarguide to follow along with Nissan’s unveiling of the Z Proto on September 15th at 8:30pm. You can register for the official event at https://t.co/VITgT3y6qC #zproto #NISSANNEXT
— ZCarGuide (@zcarguide) September 6, 2020
What we know about the next Z car
Manual Transmission and Hand Brake
As of 9/10/2020, Nissan essentially confirmed that the next will offer a manual transmission. In earlier teaser videos, we could see a hand being placed on a shifter knob in a manner that seemed like a pretty strong hint that the new Z would offer a manual transmission. However, that signal did not come through as crystal clear as Nissan was hoping, so they showed what is unmistakably a manual transmission shifter knob in their next teaser video.
In the video, it looks like the shifter knob is for a 6-speed manual transmission. Also within view is a proper handbrake as opposed to a button-activated handbrake seen on many late model vehicles.
300ZX Style Taillights
Another striking detail of one of Nissan’s teaser videos released in September 2020 was a sneak-peek at the taillights of the new Z car which are heavily inspired by the 300ZX design. In the video, Nissan transitioned a shot of a beautiful 300ZX rear view into a very zoomed in image of the new Z’s taillights and the resemblance is clear.
What we don’t know about the next Z car
The direct answer to that headline — a whole lot. There are so many unanswered questions that we hope to answer with the September 15th unveiling. Naturally, Nissan has been tight-lipped about specifics for a while now and are allowing the hype building up to the unveiling event to serve as positive marketing. Personally, I think their strategy is working quite well. However, here are a few key points that we are looking for an answer on:
- Engine and drivetrain – It has been rumored for over two years now that the next Z car would be based on the Infiniti Q60 drivetrain which features a 3.0L V6 turbocharged VR engine. On this front, there has been nothing confirmed directly by Nissan.
- Will it be named the 400Z? – It has also been rumored that the next Z car be ‘the 400Z’ following the 370Z. However, the naming convention for the Z car has traditionally referred to engine displacement. Under this constraint, a 400Z would feature a 4.0L engine which is highly unlikely. If Nissan does go with the aforementioned 3.0L V6 from the Q60, that engine does produce 400 HP, so it would be a passable change in the naming convention.
