We clocked up a few hundred kilometres behind the wheel of the new 370Z Roadster recently when we attended the local launch held in Cape Town.

Visually the 370Z Roadster comes together a lot more convincingly than its 350Z predecessor. The canvas roof extends from the rear haunches, which rise from behind the doors and continue over the boot area. Once the roof is folded down, which takes 20 seconds, the car’s sporty nature is enhanced, as the flowing shoulder line characterises the car’s profile. Incidentally, Nissan claim the roof will fold up or down at speeds of up to 5 km/h, but we found that we needed to come to a complete stop to close the roof – so as not to get rained on while driving over the Cape’s Bainskloof pass.

The 19-inch alloy wheels, fitted as standard, fill the flared wheel arches and are supplied by Rays Engineering. Behind the alloys lie 355 mm brake discs up front and 350 mm brake discs at the rear – these are clamped by 4-piston and 2-piston calipers respectively. Coupled with the Bridgestone tyres (245 wide in front and 275 wide out back) the 370Z Roadster stops on the proverbial dime.

Inside, the 370Z Roadster is well appointed, wraps around you and offers a comfortable driving experience. Surprisingly though, the steering wheel is not reach adjustable, meaning our perfect driving position remained somewhat elusive. Our test car was fitted with Nissan’s ‘Navi’ option, which includes a 40GB Satellite Navigation system with high quality WVGA touch screen. Features include DVD playback, USB and auxiliary inputs for audio and video, 9.3GB storage for music recorded from CD and Bluetooth® audio streaming. The sports seats are wrapped in leather and are electrically adjustable, with the drivers seat having adjustment for lumbar support.

Press the ‘engine start/stop’ button and the 3,7-litre V6 burbles into life. From a standstill the 370Z Roadster will reach 100 km/h in 5.8 seconds when equipped with the auto ‘box, just 0.2 seconds slower than the equivallent hard-top coupe model. Of course the exhaust note is louder with the roof folded away, but in general it hasn’t got much of a defining character, rather a bassy drone that rises and mixes with the rush of wind roar as speed increases.

The chassis is very stiff and because the 370Z’s design team always intended for the car to go topless, very little reinforcements had to be added to the car’s structure. As a result, the Roadster carries just 59 kilograms more than the Coupe, which is quite remarkable and ensures the car continues to deliver a true Z experience.

The Z has a firm ride, as can be expected of a sports car, but was never uncomfortable. The car corners flat and there is loads of grip on offer from the wide tyres. The steering is one of the aspects we appreciated most about the new roadster. Well weighted steering that responds accurately to driver inputs is anticipated on a sports car, but what impressed us was the level of feel offered by 370Z, to the point where you feel the change of road surface beneath the tyres via the steering wheel.

At the end of our 200-odd kilometre test route we came away impressed with the Z Roadster – a true sports car, drivers car, well screwed together and just plain fun to drive.

Those in the market for a sporty convertible cannot ignore the virtues of Nissan’s new Roadster. With a starting price of R543 000, the Nissan’s great driving characteristics, coupled with its comprehensive level of specification as standard, make it a relative bargain when compared to the likes of TT, Z4 or SLK.

Click here to watch a video of the 370Z Roadster.

Prices include a 3 year/90,000km Service Plan and 3 year/100,000km Warranty.

Nissan’s 370Z sports car now has a soft-top sibling. The 370Z Roadster, designed from the outset as a convertible, is ready to join the awesome GT-R and thrilling 370Z Coupé to complete Nissan’s sports car offering.

Lower, leaner, lighter and faster than its predecessor, the new Roadster celebrates 40 years of the Z.
“When work started on the 370Z some four years ago we decided from the outset that there would be a drop-top version as well as the coupé, so both were designed and engineered side by side. As a result we have been able to ensure the Roadster is notably stiffer than its predecessor to guarantee there has been no compromise in the area that matters most in a sports car: dynamic performance.” says Pierre Loing, Nissan’s European Vice President for Product Planning.

Like the Coupé, the Roadster is powered by the latest version of Nissan’s 3,7-litre V6 engine, now developing 245 kW. The new Nissan 370Z Roadster is available with two transmissions: a seven-speed automatic and the six-speed manual with Synchro Rev Control – the only manual transmission in the world with automatic downshift rev matching for perfect racing gear changes.

Every Roadster comes equipped with sporty 19-inch alloy wheels, engine stop/start button, electrically adjustable leather seats, Bluetooth connectivity, remote phone and audio controls mounted on the steering wheel, wind deflector and Bi-xenon lights. The 370Z Roadster also comes standard with a premium digital 6 CD/MP3 audio system, with 8 Bose speakers, 2 sub woofers and IPOD compatibility.

Also now available as an option on both the Coupé and Roadster is Nissan’s infotainment and 40GB Satellite Navigation system with high quality WVGA touch screen. Features include DVD playback, USB and auxiliary inputs for audio and video, 9.3GB storage for music recorded from CD and Bluetooth® audio streaming.

What about the roof? Well it takes just 20 seconds for the soft-top to fold away and the process is fully automatic, meaning it’s done at the touch of a button. It can also be operated at speeds up to 5 km/h – handy for when you’re crawling along in traffic and don’t need to come to a complete stop to raise or lower the roof.

Under the skin, the 370Z is has been significantly improved over its 350Z predecessor. Overall weight has been reduced by a substantial 62 kg over the 350Z Roadster, despite the new car having greater standard equipment. The weight saving can be partly explained by the use of aluminium for the doors and bonnet, as well as the fact that the 370Z was conceived from day one to be a convertible, meaning the car’s architecture needed less reinforcement.

Torsional stiffness at the front of the Roadster has increased by 40 percent and at the rear by 45 percent. Vertical bending stiffness at the rear has been improved by a massive 60 per cent – all helping to deliver improved driving dynamics.

Hydraulic speed sensitive rack and pinion steering has also been revised to provide more communicative feedback and better response around the dead ahead position. The system delivers greater agility around town and enhanced stability at motorway speeds.

A full complement of electronic safety aids includes the latest generation ABS with Electronic Brakeforce Distribution (EBD) and Brake Assist (BA).

For the first time in South Africa the Z Roadster is available as an automatic and Nissan has developed a sporting transmission to match the character of the car. While it can be driven as a conventional automatic, enthusiastic owners are more likely to regard it as a clutchless manual, using either the centre shift lever or steering wheel paddles to change gear. Top speed for the Roadster equipped with either manual or automatic gearbox is 250km/h (governed), while acceleration to 100km/h is achieved in 5.5 seconds in the manual-equipped car and 5.8 in the automatic.

Prices include a 3 year/90,000km Service Plan and 3 year/100,000km Warranty. *Denotes special order models.

Not content with just one special edition to celebrate its 40th anniversary, the Nissan 370Z Black Edition is the latest exclusive iteration to mark four decades of the famous Z badge.

Just 370 of the two-seater coupés will be launched in Europe from April and they will be most easily identifiable by their distinct metallic Scratch Shield paint, which can “heal” the finish in case of stone chip damage.

Coming in either black or quartz, the Black Edition rides on 19-inch dark grey aluminium forged wheels that don’t even seem to be trying to contain the bright red brake callipers. The contrast continues inside with red leather and suede on the seats and door inserts and stitching on the leather-wrapped steering wheel, centre cluster, console and knee pads.

On top of the standard feature list (BOSE premium audio fittings, intelligent key, start button) is Nissan’s Connect Premium touch-screen satellite navigation and USB-capable audio system combination. The next-generation system features a 7in screen, 3D mapping with real time traffic information, voice recognition in eight languages, DVD and Bluetooth capability and 9.3GB audio storage on the high performance HDD.

All the mechanical specifications of the standard 370Z carry over, meaning the 3,7-litre V6 still develops 245 kW and 363 Nm of torque and races from 0-100 km/h in 5.3 seconds with the six-speed manual and 5.6 seconds with the optional seven-speed paddle shift automatic.

European delivery commences in April. There’s been no announcement from Nissan SA as to whether we should expect the ‘Black Edition’ in our country.

Adapted from CarAdvice

Nissan has released details of its 370Z 40th Anniversary Edition, which is scheduled to go on sale in the US in the 2nd quarter of 2010. Created to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the original Datsun 240Z, the special 370Z will be produced in a limited run of 1 000 units for the States with prices, including destination and handling, starting from $39 580.

The 370Z is equipped with the Sport Package and six-speed manual transmission. It adds a unique ’40th Quartz’ exterior colour, special red leather-appointed interior along with red stitching on the center stack, gear stick boot and kneepads, leather steering wheel with red stitching and a plaque of authenticity. The smoke finished alloy wheels, red brake calipers and 40th Anniversary badges on the boot lid and front shock tower brace complete the package. It’s powered by the Z’s standard 3,7-litre V6 engine producing 245 kW.

Adapted from DubDaily