The next Nissan Z car could be produced from a partnership with German manufacturer, Mercedes-Benz, that’s the latest industry rumour that is doing the rounds.
The collaboration was revealed in Japanese magazine Response, which has said that ‘unnamed European agents’ were the source of the story. It wouldn’t be a complete surprise to many, Nissan and Mercedes have previously worked together on the Infiniti, GLA and X-Class projects, with the latter actually a Nissan Navara underneath.
And it’s not even the most exiting Eurasian collaboration of the year, the industry waiting with baited breath to see how Toyota and BMW combine to create the eagerly anticipated Supra.
The Japanese magazine suggests that the new-look Z car will have a Mercedes 2-litre engine under the bonnet, with the option of a more powerful 3-litre twin-turbo V6 also likely to be available, though that has previously been seen in the Infiniti Q60.
The Z car has had an uncertain existence since being launched in 2009, but Nissan’s planning officer, Philippe Klein gave fans hope that a replacement was on its way when he told Automotive News that one was in the pipeline.
'We’re working on it and it’s very present, but I have no indication to give you,' he said. 'The passion is there. The question is how can we refresh it and what will be the breakthrough for the long term?'