We've seen details of the forthcoming Nissan 350Z replacement, dubbed the 370Z on account of a bump in displacement to 3.7 liters for its next-gen VQ V6 engine, and we also know that it will debut this November at the L.A. Auto Show. Nissan even revealed its own version of a quirky teaser shot showing the car's profile. A recent presentation held somewhere on this floating orb we call Earth, however, included a slide that pretty much removes the mystery surround the rear-wheel-drive coupe's new looks. Fortunately for us, someone at the presentation forgot to confiscate everyone's camera phone. So what we see is a new 370Z that very much retains the basic shape of the current car, but features softened creases, fenders flaired even more, a kinky C-pillar and a pair of headlights with an odd 'L' shape that first debuted on the 2009 Maxima. Along with the new shape, the new engine should offer buyers around 330 horsepower, as we doubt Nissan will want to make the less expensive 370Z more powerful than the more expensive 330-hp Infiniti G37.

Other 370Z concepts floating around out there:

The all-new Nissan 370Z is still a good six months away from an official reveal, but thanks to our illustration and now a shot of the car from a presentation, we shouldn't be too surprised when the car finally takes its place on the Nissan stand. As previously speculated, the newest Z will receive a headlight treatment similar to the design seen on the 2009 Maxima.

Overall, the 370Z — which is being developed under the code name C53D — appears to keep the same general shape as the current 350Z. However, the front headlights — which will reportedly use LEDs — are much more dramatic than the current car's and can be clearly seen in our illustration and the leaked image. The rear also seems to be a bit stubbier, with a sharper crease along the trailing edge of the hatch.

The 370Z is expected to use the same VQ37VHR powerplant found in the Infiniti G37 — a V6 displacing 3.7L — delivering at least 330 horsepower.

In December of 2006, Nissan product planning VP Larry Dominique said the next-generation Z would "have considerably more performance than the current model and give a visual stimulus beyond today’s Z." He said it would continue to deliver on the promise of being attainable to a wide range of people.

Expect to see the all-new Z at the 2008 Los Angeles Auto Show in November.

www.leftlanenews.com

While big brother GT-R takes on the Porsche 911s and the BMW M3s, little brother 2010 370Z is on its way to take on the Audi TTs, BMW 1-Seires and the Mitsubishi Evos. A sneak peek was recently seen at the Nissan 360 press event.


According to sources of CARandDRIVER (as revealed in the June 2008 issue), the platform of the next-generation Nissan Z will be lighter and wider. Of course we’ve already heard numerous times before that the G37’s 3.7 liter V6, 330-hp will find its way under the hood and the badge will be changed to the 370Z.



What’s new is that the 2010 Nissan 370Z may get a 7-speed dual-clutch transmission from big-brother GT-R.


We’ll find out soon enough when the next-generation Nissan Z makes its debut at the LA Auto Show later this year. Sales are expected to begin early 2009.

E Global Platform? What? First i've heard of this? Not that that's saying much.. but I am pretty sure the new FX ('09) and the 08 G, etc, all run on the FM platform. What's this E business?

Links regarding FM platform on the FX, and mentions of the G37, etc:

http://carscoop.blogspot.com/2008/03/2009-infiniti-fx50-with-390-hp-v8.html
http://www.jdpower.com/autos/articles/2009-Infiniti-FX-Preview

"all part of Nissan’s platform consolidation efforts"

I think they mean

"all part of Nissan’s platform cost-cutting efforts"

I'm waiting for the final version to come out before I pass judgement.  I LOVED the 2nd gen G coupe concept, and was very disappointed by the production model.  On the other hand, I've seen concepts I haven't dug, where the production model has been much, much better.

spy shot of the rear

nah thats production... just wrapped in vinyl and plastic.  It will be revealed at L.A. auto show, and thats only a month or two away.  I don't think it will look that much different than the outgoing model.

I think it looks essentially like this under the plastic: