Nissan 370Z

Nissan has officially revealed the drop-top version of its Nissan 370Z sports car, and this new roadster is offered in two forms: the standard Roadster and the Touring Roadster. The top-less 370Z which is shorter in terms of its wheelbase length by 101.6 mm over the model it replaces features a fold-able soft top that takes 20 seconds to open or close. Sharing most of its other features and design elements with the 370Z Coupe, the roadster also comes with an aluminium hood, door panels and trunk to help reduce weight. At the same time, the body structure has been extensively revised, improving rigidity and stability. The 370Z Roadster includes additional structural reinforcement over the 370Z Coupe, in both the A-pillars and side sills.

Other features include long nose/short cockpit proportions, vertical door handles and distinctive headlight/taillight treatment, which features a fierce “boomerang” shape. There are also High Intensity Discharge (HID) bi-functional Xenon headlights with auto on/off feature, and the option of choosing between seven body colours including Solid Red, Magnetic Black, Brilliant Silver, Platinum Graphite, Pearl White, Monterey Blue and Black Cherry.

Over on the inside, the 370Z Roadster features black woven “Carbon” cloth seats with 8-way manual driver’s/4-way manual passenger’s seat adjustments. With the Touring Roadster, buyers would get unique leather-appointed “net” seats with 4-way power/4-way manual operation on the driver’s seat with 4-way power on the passenger’s seat plus heating and cooling.

Other standard interior fitments include Nissan’s Intelligent Key with Push Button Ignition, power windows with one-touch auto up/down feature, power door locks with auto-lock feature, automatic climate control, two 12-volt power outlets, three cupholders and an AM/FM/CD/AUX 4-speaker audio system with illuminated steering wheel-mounted controls. With the Touring Roadster, you also get a 6-CD Bose audio system with eight speakers and MP3/WMA playback, XM Satellite Radio, Bluetooth connectivity, HomeLink Universal Transceiver and aluminium-trimmed pedals.

Just like the 370Z Coupe, both models of the roadster are powered by the 3.7 liter DOHC V6 with Variable Valve Event and Lift Control (VVEL) that is able to output 332HP at 7,000 revs and 366Nm of torque at 5,200 revs. The powerplant can be coupled with either a 6 speed close-ratio manual transmission or a 7 speed automatic that comes with Downshift Rev Matching (DRM) and Adaptive Shift Control (ASC) that are designed to offer quicker shifting when operated in manual mode. Buyers can also optionally add the SynchroRev Match function for the manual with the Sport Package. This basically does the rev-matching for the driver during up-shifts and down-shifts.

With both transmission options, the 370Z Roadster delivers 18 miles to the gallon for city driving and 25 miles to the gallon for highway. With double-wishbone front suspension and a stiffer and lighter 4-link rear suspension, the roadster comes with 18-inch aluminium-alloy wheels

wrapped with P225/50R18 front/P245/45R18 rear Bridgestone Potenza RE050A tires. With the Sport Package, potential buyers will get 19-inch RAYS forged lightweight aluminium-alloy wheels with Bridgestone Potenza RE050A P245/40R19 front/P275/35R19 tires.

As standard, the roadster comes with Vehicle Dynamic Control (VDC), Anti-Lock Braking System (ABS) with Electronic Brake force Distribution (EBD) and Brake Assist (BA), Nissan Advanced Air Bag System (AABS) with dual-stage supplemental front air bags with seat belt and occupant classification sensors, front seat-mounted side impact supplemental air bags, door-mounted curtain air bags, and seat belts with pre-tensioners and load limiters.

Other standard equipments include Active Head Restraints, Zone Body Construction with front and rear crumple zones, Nissan Vehicle Immobilizer System, Vehicle Security System and a Tyre Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS). Stopping power is provided by 12.6-inch vented disc brake system, while the Sport Package includes Nissan’s Sport Brakes with large diameter 14.0- inch front and 13.8-inch rear discs with 4-piston front and 2-piston rear aluminium calipers.

There is also an optional Navigation Package which includes the touch-screen Nissan Hard Drive Navigation System with XM NavTraffic, real-time traffic information, 9.3GB Music Box hard drive for digital music storage and playback and a USB port for iPod connectivity.