Is Nissan working with Mercedes-Benz for the next generation Z car?

Rumours have been going around about Nissan’s next generation Z car, because apparently, the Japanese automaker is planning to build a partnership between Mercedes-Benz to develop this particular model. The new sports coupe will allegedly make its first appearance next year, to celebrate the original 240Z’s 50th anniversary.

According to Response.jp, Nissan has been getting a lot of pressure from the new Toyota Supra that finally made its debut at the recent Geneva Motor Show. This is why Nissan is currently considering unveiling the new Z car at the 2019 Los Angeles Auto Show. Unfortunately, the site only cites some “European agents” as their source for these rumours.

But if these rumours are actually true, Nissan would probably team up with Mercedes Benz so that they could use the latter’s platform to underpin the new Z car. Aside from that, they could also get the German automaker’s 2.0 liter turbocharged four cylinder engine. The range topping trim would likely be the 3.0 liter turbocharged V6 similar to what the Inifiniti Q60 is equipped with.

This mill is available in two versions: a 300 horsepower (224 kilowatt) engine, and a 400 horsepower (298 kilowatt) version. Of course, we would expect the upcoming Z-car to have more power than the current 370Z Nismo version, which has 350 horsepower (260 kilowatts). Response.jp further added that the new Z-car will likely be offered in a hybrid version as well. This seems like a lot of engine options for a niche vehicle.

From previous reports, Nissan had always been clear about the development of a new Z car. However, what was not made clear was the timeframe of the next Z-car’s arrival, as the automaker did not really provide one. The company’s Chief Planning Officer, Philippe Klein, also said that the next generation Z was not at the top of the company’s priority list.

However, Michael Bunce, North American VP of product planning, believes differently. He estimates that the sports coupe is a few years away. Right now, both of these reports line up with what Response.jp just said. With all these different information, we actually do not know anymore which source to believe now.

Going back to the 370Z, it seemed to have lost its appeal in the market after it has been around for a decade. Throughout February 2018, Nissan had delivered 536 units of the said model in the United States. This is a lot less compared to last year, with a drop of 748 units compared to the same period of 2017.

For now, all we can do is wait to hear from the Nissan boss himself. We’d like to know whether the next Z-car will be arriving sooner than what other sources have said.