Nissan Z GT4 Race Car Revealed, All Revealed at SEMA

The new Nissan Z has just arrived at dealerships, but the Japanese automaker is ready to talk motorsports.

On Tuesday, the Nissan Z GT4 racing car debuted with a bigger wing, revised aerodynamics, and a Nismo-tuned powertrain. More details will be announced at the 2022 SEMA Show in November, with deliveries of the GT4 expected to begin in early 2023.

The Z GT4 made its unofficial debut as a prototype at the Fuji 24-hour race in April, but at the time Nissan did not reveal what the car actually was. The prototype had the wing and hood of the GT4, but lacked the racing car's wheel design and front splitter.

The GT4 model based on the 2023 Z was a production car modified for racing. According to Nissan, Nismo, the company's in-house performance division, tuned the 3.0-liter V-6 twin-turbo engine used in the race car, but the power rating and details of the modifications have not yet been disclosed. The dual exhaust system has been replaced by a single exhaust tip protruding from the rear on the passenger side, which appears to have been developed by Nismo. A sequential transmission is expected to be used.

The chassis and suspension have been modified for racing and will be fitted with a new body kit with upgraded aerodynamics. Massive wings, a new front splitter, a vented hood with locking pins, and new wheel designs will be seen.

Nissan noted that the interior has been updated to "accommodate all types of drivers," but no details were given and no images were released.

Nissan COO Ashwani Gupta said, "Motorsports for Nissan is an expression of our passion and expertise." The same could be said about the Z itself, as this iconic sports car was set to disappear after the 370Z generation. Thanks to [Nissan GT-R and Nismo chief product specialist Yutaka Tamura and Nissan head of design Alfonso Albaisa, the Z was reborn as an underwater skunkworks project for 2023. the duo launched an internal campaign to revive the Z. and it was a success.

The GT4 would be offered to customers as a turnkey race car. Nissan has not indicated whether it will campaign the car in-house or whether it will manufacture the car itself or outsource its production to a partner. In the past, Nissan has worked with other companies to build race cars.

Nissan is keen for the new Z to compete in motorsports, as the Z GT500 did in the Japanese SUPER GT touring car racing series in early 2022.