Nissan India is showcasing the 370Z across the country with the launch of the Gran Tour De Nissan 370Z. The Nissan 370Z will be at company dealerships and key malls in ten cities across the country. The road show which will be flagged off from Mumbai on 9th February and will travel to Pune (Feb 10-14), Cochin (Feb 19-21), Chennai (Feb 26-28), Bangalore (March 5-7), Hyderabad (March 12-14), Delhi (March 20-22), Chandigarh (March 26-28), Ludhiana (March 30-April 4) and Ahmedabad (April 9-11).

“The Gran Tour is part of the brand-building initiatives and our effort is to reach out to prospective buyers by bringing the brand up close and personal to them. We are confident that initiatives like ‘Gran Tour De Nissan 370Z’ will enable us to build Nissan as an Innovative & Desirable automotive brand in the run up to the launch of our global compact car in July 2010,” Kiminobu Tokuyama, MD and CEO, Nissan India said.

Nissan has launched its widely acclaimed and iconic sports car – Nissan 370Z in India. Nissan 370Z is powered by a standard 333 PS and 363 Nm Torque, VQ37VHR 3.7 L DOHC (Double Overhead Camshaft) V6 engine with Variable Valve Event and Lift Control (VVEL). Power delivery to the rear wheels comes through a new 7-speed automatic transmission with paddle shifters or 6-speed manual transmission. The Nissan 370Z comes in eight colours with two interior leather colour options (Persimmon Orange and Black) available in both Manual and Automatic Transmissions. The Nissan 370Z 6-speed M/T with Synchro Rev Match is priced at Rs 53.50 lakhs (ex-showroom Delhi) and Nissan 370Z 7-speed A/T with Manual Shift Mode is priced at Rs. 54.50 lakhs (ex showroom Delhi).

NISSAN 370Z -TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

Nissan will launch the 370Z in India on the 20th of this month. Expected to cost a bomb, the 370Z will be the most expensive Nissan in India (but who cares, really). The launch is more of a brand building exercise before the mass production Micra hits the roads this summer. The Nissan 370Z is powered by a massive 3696cc V6 powerplant with 336 PS at 7000 RPM and 365 NM at 5200 RPM mated to a 7-speed automatic transmission with the option of paddle shifters. Where is the GT-R? We are searching!

Nissan intends to introduce the 370Z sports car in India next month at the Auto Expo. The company has plans to introduce four models in India under its fully imported category cars, and is yet to decide on the fourth model. However the fourth model is likely to be a SUV, maybe the Murano. Nissan currently has 9 dealers in India with plans of opening more dealerships before they launch their small car Micra.

“The new sports car model Nissan 370Z would be introduced in India from January and shall be third in the series of fully imported cars launched here, after Teana and X-Trail,” Suresh Rangarajan said.

Nissan India will launch the new 370Z sports car in India as part of its strategy to offer more cars to Indian customers. The 370Z will be launched at the Auto Expo in January next year. The pricing is expected to be high due to the car being a CBU. We would have loved if the Nissan GTR would have been launched but something is better than nothing, right!

Nissan could look at spicing up its model lineup for the Indian market by importing the sharply styled new Z car. The car, possibly costing anything between Rs 30-34 lakh, could be imported into the country once it has been tested in Indian conditions.

The Z is part of a long lineup of successful sportscars that started with the iconic 240Z in 1969, which changed the image of the Japanese firm. Styled by a European, it had performance, rear-drive handling, style and crucially reliability, ensuring it was a runaway sales success. It paved the way for massive success in the US market, just at the time that market had started looking at imports, thus making a huge difference to Nissan’s success.

Nissan India will be hoping they can pull off something similar in India with the new 370Z. A car that has a strong focus and clear identity, the new Z car retains the basically strong character of the earlier car. A strong 326bhp motor placed well back in the nose, almost 50:50 weight distribution, a sharp steering and a suspension setup for both agility and stability all come together to form what Nissan refers to as ‘Z-ness’.

The Z is pretty practical too. There is a hatch at the rear, quality is top class on the inside, as good as any European competitor and leather and plastic quality are top class.

The new Z has a shorter wheelbase for even greater agility and attention-seeking looks with its sharp-edged boomerang-like lights. As expected, it drives like a thoroughbred too. Performance is muscle car like. Thottle responses are not electric, but it has masses and masses of torque that tugs you forward really hard and the motor just keeps pulling and pulling hard. Performance is Porsche-quick, 0-100kph in 4.7 seconds and the car has huge pace. The steering is very accurate and this allows you to be a bit of a hooligan. With a bit of practice, you can light up the rear tyres and get the rear of the car to step out. But as with the performance of the car, this is pretty violent.

Source – ACI