LEAKED: This Is The Nissan 400Z Engine

There are few Japanese sports car brands in the US that have as loyal a following as Nissan’s family of Z cars. These machines have a rich and dedicated fan base, and with the new Nissan 400Z on the horizon, fans across the country are on the edge of their seat. We recently revealed patent images of the 400Z which has cleared up some smaller details regarding its design, and the car was also spotted on a virtual track cruising alongside its older siblings in January. As the launch of the much-anticipated car creeps closer, we are discovering more and more about it, and the latest photo reveal comes from under the hood. It might only be a slither of the engine bay, but it gives us a good idea of what will be powering the next Z car.

A leaked photo of the Nissan 400Z’s engine bay shows a team setting up the new 400Z in a showroom. One of the workers is seen propping up the hood of the car to reveal a color-coded engine cover. The angles are slightly off, so we don’t get a perfect view of the bay, but it is enough to confirm some suspicions. It has been widely reported that the Nissan 400Z would come with a twin-turbo V6 engine packing somewhere close to 400 hp. This is an important figure, as its close Japanese rival the Toyota GR Supra produces 382 hp from its twin-turbo inline six-cylinder engine, with many claiming that it actually makes more from the factory.

We suspect that the engine lurking under the hood of the Nissan 400Z is most likely a version of the twin-turbo 3.0-liter V6 found in Infiniti cars such as the Q50. In the Q50, this powerplant produces 300 hp and 295 lb-ft of torque in base trim but is pushed to 400 hp and 350 lb-ft of torque in Red Sport 400 trim. In the Q50, power is sent to either the rear wheels, or all four via a seven-speed automatic transmission, and allows this sizable sedan to sprint to sixty in only 4.5 seconds in Red Sport configuration. Now imagine that engine in a lightweight sports car. We can’t wait.