The Drive spoke with Paul Hawson, Nissan's director of advanced product planning and strategy, and apparently he wants a more performance oriented Z and that the Z can handle more than 400 horsepower. hopefully that means the Nismo Z.
The 2023 Nissan Z is capable of making more than 400 hp, and a Nismo version could very well be on the way.
www.thedrive.com
Now, Hawson couldn't speculate on future products from the automaker—he cannot outright tell any publication that a certain product is on the way or in development, even if he is responsible for it. However, we asked a few of the right questions and, despite being unable to speculate, Hawson did get very close to telling us what we all want to hear.
He didn't mince his words when it came to the fact that he wants a Z that's even more performance-oriented. Speaking of drivers who always want more, he told me, “Let’s just say we know that customer, and we try to address that customer’s needs.” Now, that could mean anything from a simple tune to a slew of hardware changes, but rest assured, we can be confident that something is very likely in the pipeline.
“It can handle more,” he told me, clearly leaving the door open for a higher horsepower Nismo-branded Z. "[There are] people that want to keep it stock forever—you know some of those people, I have friends like that—and then there are other people that are more like me, that are tuning crazy," he said.
