Is the Nissan Z35 Concept the next Z or a FR-S fighter?

The Nissan Z35 Concept seems to retrace the roots of the original Datsun 240Z (S30/Nissan Fairlady Z) formula. It’s small, light and made for the enthusiast driver. Nissan is aiming at the youth market, just like the Scion FR-S, Subaru BRZ and even the Hyundai Genesis Coupe. They are all rear-drive, have manual transmission options and are (fairly) affordable.

These photos are of the Nissan Esflow Concept car (from 2011). The Nissan Z35 Concept is expected to look a bit like the EsFlow Concept.

Rumor has it that the Nissan Z35 Concept will have the current Nissan Z’s 3.7-liter V6. There is mention of a turbocharged four-cylinder engine. Perhaps something else, like the same supercharged 2.5-liter, four-cylinder engine that currently resides in the Nissan Pathfinder Hybrid. There’s a rumor running around that the turbocharged 1.6-liter, four-cylinder in the Nissan Juke would fit too.

Transmissions are expected to be a six-speed manual and, possibly, a paddle-shifting six-speed automatic.

No word on the possibly of using a continuously variable transmission (CVT). I suspect the notion of Nissan fans rioting would keep the CVT idea away from the Nissan Z35 Concept. Why not a simpler version of the Nissan GTR’s transmission as an optional transmission? Yea, better than that CVT idea.

You sould expect to see a lot of information about the Nissan Z35 Concept between the Tokyo and Los Angeles auto shows over the course of the next few weeks.

Check out this fun video of Nissan’s big boy, the Infiniti QX80!

Thanks to Car Scoops and MotorTrend for the info.