Filed under: Sports/GTs, Euro, Nissan
Nissan 350Z GT-S is coming (to the UK)!
When a few rogue Nissan engineers in Britain decided to mount a supercharger onto the 350Z and debut it at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, we knew it was trick, but we also assumed it would never find its way to production. We stand corrected.
AutoExpress' sources inside Nissan have confirmed that the 350Z GT-S will be produced and be priced at £36,000.
The GT-S version will come equipped with the aforementioned supercharger, complete with dash-mounted toggle switch that will allow the driver to 'turn-off' the supercharger and return the 3.5-liter V6 back to its normal output (for a reason that totally escapes us). The version that debuted at Goodwood was producing 382 HP and 313 ft.-lbs. of torque and was able to leave naught and arrive at 60 in 4.8 seconds. Beyond the power figures and the information we knew before (linked below) it is unclear as to what other features will make it on this limited edition coupe. We can only hope that the bodywork and butterfly valve-equipped exhaust are included on the invoice.
Since the original purpose of the endeavor was to make a meaner, yet streetable version of the Z, in hindsight, it seems only natural that it would find its way onto the streets. However, the tarmac the GT-S will grace are across the pond, so once again we're elated for a few moments, then pissed for the rest of the day.
[Source: AutoExpress]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Looney Lambo 9:32AM (10/11/2006)
And how does this news really help us here in the US???
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Jason_801 9:44AM (10/11/2006)
Hmm, where does it say on Autoblog that it's only for US readers...?
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rwdmtparkingonly 9:46AM (10/11/2006)
"complete with dash-mounted toggle switch that will allow the driver to 'turn-off' the supercharger and return the 3.5-liter V6 back to its normal output (for a reason that totally escapes us)" - Come on, shouldn't an auto writer know that gas is heavily taxed in England, as in the rest of Europe, and that a super charger, when operating, puts a big hit on mileage? I think the switch is brilliant, and I wish that driver control was allowed on all forced induction and cylinder deactivation systems.
By the way, the news helps us in the US because mass production of the system indicates that it will also be offered in the US, although Nissan probably won't trust us with the SC switch.
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MikeW 10:14AM (10/11/2006)
Snow, ice, rain, new drivers, etc.
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Leo 10:17AM (10/11/2006)
forget the gas cost
what about when there is snow outside and it's slippery
or heavy rain
I like the idea of being able to tune the car for less power and better milage with the flip of a switch
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mike 11:04AM (10/11/2006)
"complete with dash-mounted toggle switch that will allow the driver to 'turn-off' the supercharger and return the 3.5-liter V6 back to its normal output (for a reason that totally escapes us)"
wow - just like on 'The Road Warrior!'
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epp_b 11:25AM (10/11/2006)
["...allow the driver to 'turn-off' the supercharger and return the 3.5-liter V6 back to its normal output (for a reason that totally escapes us)."]
Because it's a button, man! First rule of manliness: as many buttons as possible!
For a real reason, however, I would suspect fuel economy.
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Jamie 12:02PM (10/11/2006)
I'd prefer to think of it as turning the super charger on. How sweet is that? You're spanking it along at almost 300BHP. A new Z4 Coupe, Cayman or similar comes up behind you and subsequently eats your manly supercharged dust... or something...
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Damon Lavrinc 12:07PM (10/11/2006)
Tongue-in-cheek humor is rarely lost on Autoblog readers. :)
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rwdmtparkingonly 12:50PM (10/11/2006)
Damon, as much as I hate emoticons, I have to say that you should have used the emoticon from your comment in your original post.
Unfortunately, given some of the articles I’ve read (not necessarily yours), it seemed much more plausible that you simply did not fully understand implications of the on/off switch than that you were trying to be funny.
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Jason 1:53PM (10/11/2006)
A kit for all VQ motors would be appreciated.
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Greg A. 2:36PM (10/11/2006)
"once again we're elated for a few moments, then pissed for the rest of the day."
In the UK, 'pissed' means 'drunk'. :D
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DPC car videos 3:45PM (10/11/2006)
This car desperately is seeking a twin turbo engine, come on Nissan.
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RP 7:53PM (10/11/2006)
From what I hope, the toggle switch can be used WHILE driving, meaning that you start on a long road in 1st gear without the supercharger, find your way to third with awesome pickup (you should be at around 60mph aka 4.8 seconds), then you blast away even more by flipping the switch, giving you a NAS release type feel, minus the gas and super high speed. Does anyone know if this wouldn't be possible?
Oh yea, #4 is right - practical uses such as snow and rain are difficult with the standard V6 itself, just imagine how hard maneuvering a 382 HP beast would be. I'm still pissed that this feature didn't come out for the G35 - I love that car.
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The Road Reporter 2:01AM (10/18/2006)
In the tradition of not bringing a good car to the U.S., Nissan will indeed offer this vehicle only to the fortunate Europeans sooner than I expected.
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