While we were at Laguna Seca last month for the 2018 Rolex Monterey Motorsport Reunion, we really enjoyed seeing all of the attention that Nissan was getting as the featured marque of the event. As great as it was to see all the classic Nissans and Datsuns Z cars on the track and in the paddock, one couldn't help but wonder what the state of the current Nissan Z is.
In case you haven't been counting, it's been exactly a decade since the Z34 chassis 370Z was introduced, and the car has soldiered on with just minor updates and changes since the '09 model year. Needless to say it's a car that's in great need of redesign, and according to a report over at Wheels, a new Nissan Z is finally in the works.
Nissan Senior Vice President for Global Design Alfonso Albaisa confirmed that development of the next generation Z is underway, and rumors point to a possible debut of a prototype at next year's Tokyo Motor Show, which would coincidentally mark the 50th anniversary of the 240Z's debut.
No details have been revealed about the direction the car may go, but many have expressed interest in a car that takes the Z back to its simple, attractive, lightweight and fun roots.
Of course, even if the prototype were to debut next fall in Tokyo, we'd still be a ways off from production, but just the fact that Nissan is working on a new Z is good news. There was some fear that with the never-ending shift away from sports cars and toward SUVs, the current car would be the end of the road for the Z. Thankfully, it now seems like that isn't the case.