Nissan Made The Z More Expensive When They Should Have Just Made It Cheaper – The Autopian

A weird phenomenon seen more heavily by enthusiast cars is the first-year sales burst. A combination of hype and desire usually starts things off strong, but sales can eventually taper down without revision to keep the interest of a fickle audience. Recently, automakers have turned to special editions to spur sales, and while not all of them are desirable, here’s one with huge visible alterations. The 2024 Nissan Z Heritage Edition is here, and my word, is it ever delightfully orange. You’re essentially seeing a Tokyo Auto Salon show car come to life in U.S. showrooms, and while it looks brilliant, this pricey special edition isn’t what the Nissan Z needed.

This special edition’s direct lineage had an inauspicious start, as the last Heritage Edition Z was a little tragic. The last 370Z Heritage Edition was just a tape stripe and upholstery job on a base car, which meant that it got an open differential, small brakes, and a relatively spartan interior. The new one rectifies that, but it might be too much of a move upmarket.

The big story on the 2024 version, aside from being bathed in wonderful New Sight Orange paint, is a new front bumper that Jason wrote about previously. It does a sublime job of breaking up the new Z’s gaping maw, all while doing an impression of a period-correct air dam thanks to a flared valence. Add in a set of retro stripes and some laurels around the Z emblems on the C-pillars, and this visual treatment works.

Just as important as the paint and the front bumper are new eight-spoke wheels inspired by iconic RS Watanabe racing wheels that are popular on everything from classic Japanese sports cars to race-prepared Dodge Ram Vans. I’m normally a certified hater of black wheels, but there’s just something about this design that totally works. Two thumbs up.

If this limited-run Heritage Edition is giving you deja vu, there’s a reason for that: It’s nearly identical to a show car that debuted at the 2022 Tokyo Auto Salon. The only truly new addition is a set of tacked-on fender flares borrowed from the Nismo model, which suit the retro vibe well, but just because we’ve seen a visual package before doesn’t mean it doesn’t look great. This limited-run model makes a superb first impression, but there’s one big problem — the Nissan Z Heritage Edition lists for $60,275 including freight, and a new $60,000 trim isn’t what Nissan’s rear-wheel-drive coupe needs right now.

The biggest argument against the new Z is that the Toyota GR Supra 3.0 is a substantially better performance car than the non-Nismo Z for only $2,385 more than the Z Performance trim with the big brakes and limited-slip differential, but even then, the GR Supra isn’t selling well. Through the first quarter of 2024, Toyota only sold 484 GR Supras in total, down 44.4 percent year-over-year. Between high interest rates and a general cost-of-living squeeze over the past few years (remember, slowing inflation isn’t the same as deflation), lots of people just don’t have the budget for a sports car that’ll be $60k out the door after taxes and dealer fees.

Part of the genius of the old 370Z in later years wasn’t just that it was relatively cheap, it was that all the performance goodies weren’t locked in with all the luxury trappings. The Sport trim added big Akebono brakes, a limited-slip differential, forged wheels, Bridgestone Potenza S007 tires, some subtle aero tweaks, and a Bose stereo to a cloth-upholstered base model, and sold for thousands less than the luxe Sport Touring trim.

If Nissan needed a way to beef up sales, a fresh clubsport-style trim for the new Z slotting in between the $44,110 Sport trim and the $54,110 Performance trim could prove an attractive proposition. Bundle the brakes, limited-slip differential, and spoilers together, skip the Bose stereo, upgraded infotainment screen, and leather seats, and then unleash it on the public for less than $50,000 including freight. At the end of the day, price is everything and a more affordable model with desirable equipment could go a ways to putting butts in seats.

(Photo credits: Nissan)

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