The new Nissan Z, due to roll into Australian showrooms from mid-2022, is already subject to what the company claims is “an extreme amount” of demand.
While it hasn’t disclosed its specific pre-order bank, Nissan’s local arm says new reservations are being taken almost daily – before pricing is announced.
“Absolute ton of interest. It’s very popular, and we’ve had an extreme amount of demand for it,” Nissan Oceania managing director Adam Paterson told CarExpert this week.
We’re not surprised by this, considering how many people read our Zed coverage.
MORE: 2022 is the year of reborn Japanese sports cars
What remains to be seen is how capable Nissan will be at satisfying early demand with supply – though it says the situation should improve substantially into next year.
Additionally, and much to Nissan’s surprise, something like 70 per cent of early hand-raisers want the six-speed manual rather than the auto, suggesting an enthusiast skew among these early adopters.
“I would say one of the other things that’s interesting for us, and I’ll share this, is we have a ‘register your interest’ page on the site and it allows the customer to give us a little bit more detail as to what they’re looking for,” Mr Paterson added.
“This is going to change between now and the time the car launches, because every day there are more reservations coming in… but at last check three to four weeks ago when I last had a chance to look at it with our product team, we were close to 70 per cent manual demand.
“That’s a rough number, but I think it’s higher than we had had expected.”
The new Nissan Z will lob with a single trim level to go on sale – alongside a limited-edition Z Proto Spec flagship. These versions are billed as “the ultimate expression of the new Nissan Z”, though I’d place a bet Nismo would have a few things to say about this…
MORE: 2022 Subaru BRZ first allocation almost sold out
The Nissan Z sits on a revised version of the 370Z’s rear-wheel drive bones and uses the Infiniti Q60 Red Sport’s 3.0-litre twin-turbo V6 putting out 298kW of power and 475Nm of torque.
Nissan says the engine is tuned for immediate response, and that, along with the increase in key outputs, will see the new Z’s zero-to-100km/h time reduce by around 15 per cent – pointing to a time in the high 4s.
The enthusiast’s gearbox is a six-speed close-ratio manual with an Exedy high-performance clutch and carbon-fibre composite drive shaft. It has an automated rev-matching function.
The auto is a new nine-speed unit paired with aluminium paddle shifters.
All Nissan Zs have a mechanical limited-slip differential and launch control as standard equipment.
Standard features on the single permanent launch variant will include leather-accented seats, an 8.0-inch touchscreen with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, and a 12.3-inch TFT digital instrument cluster with three distinct display modes.
It’ll also come standard with Active Noise Cancellation to filter out tyre drone and wind noise, and Active Sound Enhancement to amplify the engine soundtrack inside the cabin. In our experience these systems can go either way…
For more Nissan Z content check out some of our features linked below.
MORE: 2023 Nissan Z designer debrief
MORE: 2023 Nissan Z confirmed for Australia
MORE: Nissan Z won’t set the sales charts alight… and that’s alright
MORE: 2023 Nissan Z design is a love letter to existing owners and fans
MORE: Nissan Z styling will influence other models from 2023 onwards
