Not that the new Nissan 3650Z Coupe needs any help - it got to be Canada's Car of the Year and the best-selling sports car in North America all on its own- but it's getting a big boost anyway.
That comes in the form of the much-anticipated 2004 350Z Roadster, which joins the Coupe in the 2004 350Z stable and is widely is expected to help the Z® hang on to the top spot in its category.
The Z, which was named Car of the Year and Best New Design by the Automobile Journalists Association of Canada (AJAC), has a whopping 35-percent share of the sports-car segment in Canada and represents 25 percent of the market in the United States (through August, 2003).
Nissan Canada Inc. dealers had sold 1,800 350Zs from August, 2002, when the 350Z was introduced, until August, 2003. In the same period, their U.S. counterparts sold nearly 40,000 Zs.
"To build on this success, we are now introducing the new 350Z Roadster," says Ian Forsyth, director of marking for Nissan Canada Inc. "As well as having all the style, performance, power and handling of the Coupe, the Roadster features a full-power top, a heated glass rear window and a hard storage cover for the convertible top, creating a very clean and finished appearance.
"The 350Z Roadster is a world-class sports car with all the performance features to compete with the very best the world has to offer."
The Z® Roadster, which went on sale in the summer of 2003, is designed to transform itself from top-up to top-down in about 20 seconds. Its heated glass rear window helps provide clear visibility in adverse weather conditions. And, unlike some convertibles, the top stows compactly under a lightweight powered tonneau cover, completely hidden when down.
Activating the top is a simple process. Push the brake pedal and hold the button (located to the left of the steering column) and the top opens or closes.
During the design phase of the Z Roadster, engineers devoted countless hours conducting wind tunnel tests. These tests allowed them to adjust the Roadster's design to reroute air flow to minimize interior noise and turbulence while maximizing downforce at highway speeds. The result is exceptionally quiet cruising with negligible buffeting.
The FM (Front Mid-ship) platform, used on the 350Z Coupe, is adopted for use in the Roadster. A number of structural reinforcements were incorporated to strengthen its unibody. Additional reinforcement was added at the door openings, and a triple crossmember was added to the seating area connecting the sides to the floor structure to provide enhanced rigidity.
Unique to all convertibles is the high visibility of the interior. Knowing this, the designers of the 350Z Roadster put a heavy emphasis on the interior design of the car.
And, since the heart and soul of the Z is performance, the designers felt the need to reflect that.
Like the Coupe, the Roadster's instrument panel features three gauge pods consisting of the drive computer, oil pressure gauge and voltmeter, as well as modern touches such as an optional navigation system with seven-inch display.
The door vents and centre console have a solid, chiseled-from-a-block-of-aluminum look.
The driver's seat is tailored to fit the performance of the Roadster. The base cushion is firm and long for additional support, while bolster cutouts under the thighs optimizes pedal operation.
The seatback is sculpted with large "wings," designed to help secure drivers during acceleration. The upper side bolster is sculpted in the middle for easy shifting and steering, while the lower side bolster is designed wider and deeper to keep the driver squarely behind the wheel.
Unique to the Roadster are Burnt Orange ventilated leather-trimmed net-style seats with a woven seat cloth centre insert and featuring a built-in seat heater.
Though the 350Z Roadster is executed as a sports car, thorough attention has been paid to storage capacity , including a lockable luggage floor box capable of storing a briefcase or other personal items. There is also highly usable luggage space in the trunk even though the top is stored in the trunk area when down. The trunk has 116 litres (4.1 cubic feet) of cargo space.
The Roadster shares all of the hardtop Z's key performance features. Power is provided by the 287-horsepower 3.5-litre VQ35DE V6 engine used in the Coupe and producing 274 ft-lbs of torque. It's a power range that comes as a result of the engine's intake port design and Continuously Variable Valve Timing Control System (CVTCS) technology. The engine delivers outstanding acceleration, high-speed passing performance and torque characteristics suitable for city driving.
Drivability has been further improved in the Coupe and Roadster by adopting an electronically controlled throttle, and the use of a highly rigid cylinder block. In addition, the potent V6 and its dual-outlet exhaust produce engine sounds worthy of a world-class sports car.
Suspension for the rear-wheel drive Z Roadster is a four-wheel independent design.
Both six-speed close-ratio manual and five-speed automatic transmissions are available. The automatic transmission with gated shifter and manual-shift mode (A5 Package) and a Navi Package, offering a DVD-based navigation system, are the only options offered for the extremely well equipped Roadster.
Only one model of the 2004 350Z Roadster is offered and, as one might expect in a vehicle Nissan considers its 'halo' car, the features list is long and extensive.
Briefly, it includes traction control (TCS), 18-inch alloy wheels with high-performance tires, xenon headlights, automatic climate control, six-speed manual transmission, a 240-watt Bose® audio system with six-disc CD changer and seven speakers, leather-appointed seats with heater, heated mirrors, side-impact supplemental air bags and virtually all the amenities offered on the top-of-the-line 350Z Coupe Track Pack model.