You might have to sit down for this one. If you’re a fan of Nissan’s 370Z performance coupe, you probably know that its career is said to be coming to an end by 2017, but we just learned that its successor could return in a whole new and completely unexpected form.
Originally, Nissan was thinking about replacing Z with a smaller coupe, the IDx concept, which was put on display at the 2013 Tokyo Motor Show. The four-cylinder-powered IDx paid tribute to the 1970s Datsun Z lineup in terms of design and turned heads at the auto show, with a look that surprised many.
Sources are now saying, however, that the automaker has turned directions completely and is planning on replacing the Nissan 370Z with a less-expensive Z-badged compact sports crossover, which is expected to be debuted this month for the first time at the Frankfurt Motor Show. Nissan has not yet confirmed if the concept crossover it's debuting (pictured above) is the next installation in the Z lineup, but the popularity of crossovers has really grown immensely over the past decade, so some sources are not surprised that Nissan may be thinking about a Z crossover. Still, this news is more than a bit of a shock.
If the rumors are true, we’ll be waiting in anticipation to see if it is indeed revealed at the Frankfurt auto show and will give you all the low down. For now all we know is that tipsters are saying it may be based on the Renault-Nissan's CMF B platform and that it could get a 1.6-liter turbo engine and the same six-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission as the Nissan Juke, which it may be similar in size to.
On a final note, Shiro Nakamura, Nissan’s creative chief, told Australian media, “I don’t think the next one is going to be the 390Z. It’s not growing because it’s already big enough. You know, 350 started with 240, 300, 350 and then came 370. I don’t think we should go higher ... We need to take another path. I feel Z needs more revolution than evolution."
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