Infiniti 400 Red Sport engine confirmed for Nissan Z Proto
There has been much speculation about the Nissan Z Proto’s engine. We’ve long suspected that the Z concept was powered by the 400-horsepower twin-turbo V6 from the Infiniti 400 Red Sport series. Now that hunch has been confirmed by photos of the Z Proto’s engine bay.
Though it’s a fully running concept, Nissan has never opened the hood of the Z Proto for the press. However, a lucky photog happened to be at the Nissan Crossing showroom in the ritzy Ginza shopping district of Tokyo just as workers had the hood popped. The venue is a popular showcase for Nissan’s latest and greatest, and displays rotate frequently. This looks like an after-hours change over, but Instagrammer layersworks was able to take a few shots through the large picture window.
While the engine cover on the Z Proto is different than the one shrouding the Infiniti Q50 and Q60 400 Red Sport, there are other clues that point to the VR30DDTT. The biggest one are the three coolant caps situated at the front of the engine bay. With two staggered ones on the left of the image and one on the right, they’re positioned exactly like they are in the Infiniti. Between the two columns of caps, there are coolant hoses in the same orientation as on the Infiniti.
The engines are known to be underrated from the factory by respected tuners, and put out at-the-wheels horsepower ratings that are close to or match the official figures taken at the crankshaft. Since its introduction in 2016, there have also been a slew of aftermarket options made available. All this is to say that the Nissan Z could be a performance bargain.
Nissan has confirmed that the Z will go on sale later this year. Of course, just because the Z Proto has the VR30DDTT engine doesn’t mean the production version will, but we also wouldn’t bet against it.
via The Drive.