Nissan and NASA* Launch New Spec Z Race Series for 350Z

Before you go all Newt Gingrich on us, allow us to explain that NASA is an acronym for the National Auto Sport Association. With that of the way, we can now tell you that Nissan and NASA have just announced the creation of an all-new Spec Z racing series for all trim variants of the 350Z from the 2003-2008 model years.

The single make series has the support of Nissan's Motorsports division, which will offer a contingency prize program that rewards the top three finishers at each regional competition weekend with up to $850. The top finishers of the season will also be eligible for a prize of up to $6,500 in cash support.

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Nissan 350Z Coupe Crashes Into 350Z Roadster on the Highway, How Did that Happen?

Here's a video that will have you trying out YouTube's loop feature to find out what exactly happened to cause this crash between two fellow Nissan drivers, which looks like it took place either in the States (more likely) or in Canada.

The dashboard footage from the Infiniti G35 that was following from behind shows the Nissan 350Z roadster on the left lane and the allegedly supercharged 350Z coupe on the right side driving at what appear to be normal speeds.

Then when hear something that sounds like an engine revving and all of a sudden the coupe Z pulls to the left and smashes into the silver roadster with both cars falling into the grass median.

Fortunately, according to the YouTube poster's description, no one was hurt during this incident.

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Must See: Miniature Gymkhana with Radio Controlled Nissan 350Z Toy [Videos]

Being that Japan is a nation of many skillful drifters, we are not a bit surprised that they have also mastered the technique on a much, much smaller scale. Enter the magical slideways world of Drift 44's radio controlled toy cars.

You can get a sample of their precise driving and impressive drifting skills with a Nissan 350Z RC in the videos that follow right after the jump. And while no doubt you'll find all the tricks and courses pretty cool, you may want to turn down the volume as the same music plays on all clips.

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Nissan Plans Major Expansion for its Nismo Performance Division in the Likes of the BMW M and Mercedes AMG Arms

If you are a gaming, racecar or even a frequent visitor of Carscoop, then you already know about Nismo. For the rest, it’s an abbreviation of Nissan Motorsports, the Japanese carmaker’s in-house performance division established in 1984.

Yet its activities have been restricted mainly in motorsports, where it has been involved with great success in events like the FIA GT1 World Championship, the 24 Hours of Le Mans and of course, numerous racing series in Japan .

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That'll Buff Right Out: Nissan 300ZX Wannabe Drifter Kills Tree

While more of a GT than a genuine sports car, the 1990s Nissan 300ZX (sold under the Fairlady Z nameplate in Japan), can be pretty fun in the right hands, even more so if you hit a wet roundabout after rain.

But going slideways in these type of conditions can be hazardous not only for your health but for the…natural surroundings as well as the driver of this blacked out 300ZX quickly found out. You can check out the video after the jump.

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Video: Crazy Nissan 350Z Accident Results in Awesome Parking Job!

An extremely violent accident involving what appears to be a Nissan 350Z (we could be wrong on the model though) that flew over a wall at a parking lot and which could have ended in a drama, surprisingly turned into the most awesome parking job we have ever seen on film. The driver even came out unhurt and checked the car as it was a mere fender bender!

Don’t believe us? Hit the jump and check out the spectacular video for yourself.

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A Nissan Silva Coupe with a Schizophrenic Personality

In October of 2010 we brought you a Toyota Soarer / Lexus SC that had been transformed into an abomination with a Mercedes-Benz CLK DTM front end and a Nissan 200SX rump. It was bad, but I still liked it better than the snooze-mobile that was the ‘91 Soarer / CS.

Well, from the same website that brought us that automotive mullet comes yet another creation that’s been refashioned into something else. This time its a Nissan Silva. This particular freak of coach building features a Mercedes-Benz rear end (or at very least the taillights) and Nissan 350Z front end. The result is less than impressive.

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No Really, this is a Mitsubishi Eclipse Spider and it's Powered by a Subaru Turbo Boxer!

Don't let the Nissan 350Z snout and the Infiniti G35 Coupe (JDM Nissan Skyline V35) rear end design fool you; the glitzy painted roadster model you're gawking at is in fact a JDM Mitsubishi Eclipse Spider - possibly a third generation model. But before you try to digest all that info let us quickly add that Paint Star's Tokyo Auto Salon project car also hides a Subaru-sourced 2.0-liter turbocharged flat-four engine under its 350Z-shaped hood. See the rest of the photos in our image gallery after the break.

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Nissan 350Z Poses as a Porsche Panamera Convertible...

[Updated gallery] The Tokyo Auto Salon is always a blast featuring all sorts of unique tuning proposals, like this here Porsche wannabe. When our Tokyo show man Phil e-mailed the above photo, we assumed it pictured a Porsche -possibly a Boxster- modified to resemble a Panamera Convertible. We were quickly proven wrong, however, when he sent over an image of the interior and some video footage revealing that the Porsche Panamera tune was actually a...masqueraded Nissan 350Z Roadster. More photos after the jump.

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Nissan to Bring Historic Z Racers at the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion

As part of its year-long celebration of the 'Z' sports coupe's 40th anniversary, Nissan will display a series of historic racers at the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion, formerly known as the Monterey Historic Automobile Races, which takes place at the at Laguna Seca Raceway on August 12-15. The six Z racers of the past will be joined at the event by a number of vintage Nissan race cars including a 1970 Datsun 510 and a pair of 1985 Nissan GTPs. For more details about the display cars, hit the break for the official release.

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Unichip Introduces New ECU Upgrade for Nissan 350Z

The Nissan 350Z has long been replaced by the all-new 370Z but the tuning industry isn't about to stop introducing performance upgrades for the Japanese sports car any time soon.

Now, Unichip Europe has released a new plug and play 'U-connect' piggy back ECU for the 350Z that adds another 20bhp raising the V6's peak output from a measured 264bhp to a mighty 284 bhp. Similarly, torque increases by 26 lb.ft, bringing the total from 236 lb.ft to 262 lb.ft.

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Nissan Club Celebrates Z's 40th Birthday with 'Back to the Future' Photo Shoot

Joining the festivities for the Z's 40th anniversary, the folks over at the NICOClub, a forum dedicated to Nissan and Infiniti cars, published these two black and white photos of the first 240Z and its modern day successor, the 370Z. The original picture with the two pre-production 240Zs and a Datsun 510 support car that were driven by Datsun engineers was shot in October 1969 on Van Buren Street in downtown Phoenix.

Nico Club forum member 'AZhitman' and his pal re-staged the photo shoot at the same exact location during a test drive last year replacing the 240Zs with two Nissan 370Zs and the Datsun with a new Nissan Maxima that were positioned in the same way as they were 40 years ago.

PS: We digitally enhanced the second photo with the 370Zs to give the impression of an aged effect

Via: NICOClub , Photos: AZHitman

Nissan 370Z - First Live Photos from European Gathering

It's only been a week since Nissan dropped the first official shots of the brand-new 370Z into the web and even though the sports coupe is supposed to make its first public appearance at the upcoming 2008 Los Angeles Auto Show that runs November 21 to 30, the Japanese automaker revealed the vehicle to a handful of people somewhere in Europe. We're not sure whether it was a closed media session or if Nissan showed the new 'Z' to a few of its European employees, but fact is that someone managed to take a few shots and post them on an enthusiast forum.

Aside from the different color of the interior, the 370Z seen here is in the same gray/silver metallic finish as the car seen in the press shots. You can check out those photos and read all the initial info that we have on Nissan's new Z coupe by clicking here.

RELATED STORIES (Click on the links):

• NISMO-Prepped 370Z Photo Leaked
  
• Nissan 370Z Official Pictures
  
• Video: Nissan 370Z in Need For Speed Teaser Film
  
• Nissan 370Z Official Teaser Pic from Presentation
  
• Japanese Magazine Builds 370Z Replica Based on 350Z
  
• Video: Nissan 370Z First Drive
  
• Nissan 370Z Stars in Need For Speed Undercover Video Game

Via: The370Z

Video No2: Nissan 370Z First Drive with Interior Shots

Following on the heels of Motortrend magazine (check out the video by clicking here), Edmunds' Insideline has also released a video of its first encounter with the all-new 2009 Nissan 370Z after the Japanese firm invited a group of journalists to test drive a pre-production prototype model. If we'd like to make a short list of the most important changes on the 370Z these would include: the shorter wheelbase, the Infiniti-derived 3.7-liter V6 engine, the less fussy design and the better quality materials in the interior. Hit the jump to watch the video. -Continued

2009 Nissan 350Z Roadster Pricing Announced

Even though the new 370Z Coupe will be introduced at next month's LA Auto Show with sales scheduled to begin early next year, the roadster version of the current 350Z will continue to be available for an undetermined period of time. The only noteworthy change for the 2009MY 350Z Roadster concerns the addition of a new Moonlight White exterior color. The 2009 model is offered in three trims, Enthusiast, Touring and Grand Touring with prices set at $36,870, $39,220 and $41,570 respectively for models equipped with a 6-speed manual gearbox. -Continued

If you happen to prefer an auto box, in which case we'd advise you to look for a less sporty vehicle but if you insist, Nissan charges an extra $1,000 for the 5-speed automatic transmission.

2009 Nissan 370Z Partially Revealed on Need For Speed Undercover Game

The forthcoming Nissan 370Z is exactly what we'd call one of the best kept secrets of the auto industry. So it comes to no surprise that the 350Z's successor was partially revealed in one of the teaser films for the Need for Speed Undercover video game that is slated to be in stores North America on November 18 and in Europe on November 21. Along with the above screenshot that was sent to us by our reader Marcus, we also managed to take a few more shots ourselves from one of the videos on the NFS website. -Continued

If you happen to have any doubts that these pictures actually depict the new 370Z that is expected to be revealed at next month's 2008 Los Angeles Auto Show, just click here to see a screenshot of the Japanese sports coupe that was taken during an official Nissan presentation earlier this year.

Thanks for the pic Marcus!

Datsun 240Z - Fairlady Z Retro Concept with a Touch of GT-R

Looks like the Datsun XLink concept that was created by Benjamin Nawka at Nissan’s Yulon Design Center (see here) has given birth to a newly found interest for the long-gone Japanese brand. This modern interpretation of the iconic Datsun 240Z / Fairlady Z of the 1970s is the work of a Polish designer Jacek Kolodziejczyk who goes by the alias 'Iacoski. The Fairlady Z Concept study combines the classic lines of the original 240Z with several design elements from the new Nissan GT-R such as the front grille, the side air vents and the headlamps. And while it may never go into production, the end result is pretty dang cool. What do you think? -Image gallery after the jump

Source: Iacoski , Via: Jpcnews

2009 Nissan 370Z Spied on the Road

Even though the new 370Z is just around the corner as Nissan is planning to unveil its next-generation sports car at the Los Angeles Auto Show in November, camouflaged prototypes are still making their appearance on U.S. highways. This particular 370Z prototype was scooped by VWVortex forum member “LivingVoice” somewhere in the States. As you can see in the photos, the new 370Z seems to have retained the 350Z’s basic design, which is something totally okay with us. Hopefully Nissan won’t replicate the current Z’s interior in terms of the low-quality materials that seemed out of place in a car like the 350Z. -One more image after the jump

Via: Autoblog.com , Source: VWVortex

Nissan 370Z Unveiled During Presentation!

Thanks to a vivid Carscoop reader who wishes to remain anonymous, we now have the first (semi) official shot of the forthcoming Nissan 370Z. From what he told us, the camera-phone picture was shot during a recent Nissan event. Although the picture isn't of the best quality, it's apparent that the 370Z's design is more of an evolution of the current 350Z, albeit a bit more muscular.

Power will come from a revised version of the Infiniti G37's 3.7-liter V6 engine (hence the name 370Z), which should deliver somewhere in-between 330 and 350Hp. The rear-wheel-drive 370Z will be offered with both manual and automatic transmissions. The unveiling of the 370Z is expected to take place this fall at the 2008 Los Angeles Auto Show on November 19. -Thanks for the pic "T"

2010 Nissan 370Z Coupe: Exterior and Interior Details Scooped

Yesterday we showed you a picture of a wall sculpture from a Nissan global meeting in Portugal that supposedly gives us a sketchy outline of the new 370Z (see here). Today, one of our readers mailed us these scans taken from a Japanese car magazine that reveal details of the forthcoming 2010 Nissan 370Z (called Fairlady in Japan) that is expected to be introduced towards the end of the year with sales following during the first quarter of 2009.

As anticipated, Nissan will replace the current Z’s 3.5-liter V6 engine with a modified version of the Infiniti’s new 3.7-liter V6 that’s rumored to produce around 350 Hp. The scans give us among other things, a first view of the 2010 Z’s interior and dashboard with its G37 inspired centre console along with shots of the front and rear end of the coupe. –More pics after the jump

Thanks for the scans Tim!