2023 Nissan Z Brings Some Old-School Flavor

The Nissan 370Z was on the verge of collecting Social Security checks from a golf cart in Del Boca Vista when its successor, simply named Z, made its debut. 

And after a week behind the wheel of this retro-futuristic two-seater, it's clear that the 2023 Nissan Z is doing everything it can to make up for lost time.

Cribbing iconic design elements can backfire on a modern car, but the Nissan Z pulls it off. 

The front end's eye-like headlights and squared-off grille carry just the right amount of Datsun vibe, while the 300ZX-style taillights look excellent tucked under the hatchback lid.

My tester's $1,295 two-tone black-and-blue paint job is sharp, too.

A 3.0-liter twin-turbocharged V6 borrowed from Infiniti puts 400 horsepower and 350 pound-feet of torque at my disposal. 

Boost will build and the car will pull at nearly every point on the tachometer, making highway passes a breeze without worrying about downshifts. 

While I wish cars fitted with the six-speed manual transmission had the sport muffler that's only legal on automatic-transmission variants, the engine note is only really hushed at lower speeds; as the tach approaches its 6,800-rpm redline, the V6 has no issue bouncing its song off the trees that line my favorite curvy backroads.

With its big power bump, its newfound appreciation for modernity and an on-road character that's simply tons of fun, we should all be happy that the sports-car arena is welcoming a new challenger in the 2023 Nissan Z.

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