An Updated Nissan Z Is Already In The Works

It feels like only yesterday we drove the Nissan Z for the first time. Since our time with it at the launch event, Nissan has begun shipping cars to dealers all over the place, including both American soil and US territories like Guam. Now, it looks like Nissan is already working on ways to keep its new sports car fresh and competitive.

In the video released last week, we see two Nissan Zs following each other in a highway lane. The person holding the camera passes the first car which appears to be a production-spec Z car with the Performance package, judging by the wheels. But toward the end of the 50-second clip, the cammer passes the second Z that’s in front. This is where it gets interesting.

A couple of details stand out. The front bumper is camouflaged but it’s adopted a different shape to the one we’ve already seen. The front plate bracket being moved upwards seems to confirm this suspicion. On the current Z, the bracket is much lower.

You’d be right if this bumper looks slightly familiar to you. The shape is very reminiscent of the Fairlady Z Customized Proto showcased at the Tokyo Auto Salon. One commenter pondered that maybe the car in the video is being hot-weathered tested for sale in Japan? This is one plausible theory as Nissan typically reserves the ‘Fairlady’ moniker only for the JDM market. If that’s the case, we’d be bummed out to miss the new nose. Nissan caught some flak for the current one before the Z debuted, and some are still a little sore about it.

Another possible theory is that Nissan is simply jumping the gun a little. A redesign now is certainly not in the cards, but Nissan could be starting early to help ensure that the global supply chain can’t sink its hooks into the new model.

For now, we’ll have to wait for more photos. We’d imagine we’ll see some soon. If Nissan really is testing some updates to the Z, we will see this car again. With any luck, that’ll come with high-res spy shots of the sports car. If we’re really lucky, that could mean the debut of the Tokyo Auto Salon concept pictured above. Fingers crossed.