Nissan is Reportedly Working on a Z Crossover

2016 Nissan 370Z Nismo (Credit: Nissan )

Okay, we can file this one in the “crap I never thought I would read” folder.

According to Autocar, Nissan is looking to revamp the Z car… wait for it… as a sporty crossover. That’s right folks, start reinforcing those umbrellas, as we’re about to see frogs fall from the clouds.

Now, before Z car enthusiasts start going haywire and charging toward Nissan headquarters, keep in mind that this is only a report based on pretty innocuous statements from Nissan officials. During a conversation, Nissan chief creative officer, Shiro Nakamura, told Australian media “We need to take another path. I feel Z needs more revolution than evolution. I think GT-R has to stay the most high-performance symbol of Nissan technology and Z is a more affordable sports car or a sporty car to get the younger people.”

To me, that statement reads as if Nissan is still unsure what direction it wants to go with the Z car, but its executives know that it cannot follow the path it has in recent years. Nissan executive vice-president, Trevor Mann, added to this when he said “The market is not like it used to be, though, so I think that if you do something, you’ll need to do something which is quite special, to attract the segment” in regards to the Z sub-brand as a whole.

None of these comments lead me to believe that the Z car will transform into a crossover. Instead, this leads me to believe that Nissan is experimenting with the idea of creating a full-on Z sub-brand that could include a crossover. Alongside this higher-riding Z would likely be a smaller, four-cylinder Z model.

One car that is clearly missing is the V-6-powered Z, which is likely to bite the dust. This would leave buyers looking for added performance with only the GT-R to satisfy their itch.

According to Autocar’s report, this Z crossover will supposedly show up in concept form at the 2015 Frankfurt Auto Show, which kicks off in September. Stay tuned for more on this as we near the auto show.