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Saturday, September 19, 2020

Thoughts on the 2020 Nissan Z Proto

Personal File: The new Nissan Z Proto just hit the airways this week and it is making quite a stir. It's been a long time since Nissan gave us new a Z - in fact you have to go all the way back to 2009. Much like the GT-R concept shown at the 2001 Tokyo Motor Show, the finer details of the Z Proto are not yet fully baked, but it does give a good indication of the overall design language, interior concepts, and structure of the vehicle.

Overall the car moves away from the past few generations and favors instead a mix of it's greatest hits. Gone are the bold (overstyled) elements like the boomerang headlights and tail lights and instead feature heavy Fairlady 240Z influences in the front and profile combined with a very miminialist 300ZX style rear end. There is no mistaking this is a Z car and that's a good thing.

Creative Brief: As much as I like the concept car there just aren't enough details in the design. The goal of this triptych was to take what Nissan started with and lay in details with what I hope the real production car might look like when revealed. Some of the highlights include:

Execution Highlights - Front

Nissan Proto Front Before
Nissan Proto Front After
  • Revised headlights from a 2019 Volkswagen Beetle
  • Revised grille and lower air dam
  • Added front running lights and grill ports on from from a 2017 Nissan GT-R 
  • Revised hood and fascia cut lines
  • Color-matched pillars to body color

Execution Highlights - Profile

Nissan Proto Profile Before
Nissan Proto Profile After
  • Revised headlights and tail lights
  • Brightwork deleted after B-pillar window
  • Color-matched roof and trunk lid to the main body

Execution Highlights - Rear

Nissan Proto Rear Before
Nissan Proto Rear After
  • Increased size of tail lights
  • Added badge on deck lid
  • Moved license plate area
  • Simplified lower diffuser
  • Brightwork deleted after B-pillar window
  • Color-matched roof and trunk lid to the main body

Final Thoughts: I was suprised how quickly this one came together and how much better it flows from all angles of the vehicle. The detail bits and bobs were fun to add from the Volkswagen and the GTR as well. What do you think? Did I make it better or worse?

All source photos copyright original owners

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