The Nissan Z Proto was unveiled to the world last September. As an early prototype of the next-generation Z sports car, the carmaker shared just enough details to get enthusiasts interested. Specifications about the engine and its delivery were never mentioned, except that it was a twin-turbo V6. Now it’s possible that Nissan is hiding the best potential from its performance machine, especially in the digital world of a video game.
The game in question is Project Cars 3, which recently offered a new downloadable car package that included the Nissan Z Proto. What’s interesting here is that the digital version is listed with 445 horsepower (332 kilowatts) – far more than the 400 ponies that most people expected under the hood. Rumors have it that the new Z will get the 3.0-liter twin-turbo V6 from the Infiniti Q60 Red Sport, which packs the above 400 hp. In early February, this was apparently confirmed by photos showing the Red Sport engine under the Z Proto hood. So, what’s up with this rating of 445 hp video games?
To begin with, it’s just a video game and the right features are never exaggerated or misrepresented in such an empire. If we do not forget, Project Cars 3 was launched with the C8 Corvette and the C8.R, the latter of which had a laughing 6,500-rev-minute line. If we listen to the race car in real life, it is clear that the engine with a flat crutch is much higher, and a rather disappointing arcade-like race game is not exactly an ideal source to discover credible information. And just as mysterious as Nissan saw with the Z Proto as a whole, we strongly doubt it’s an accident.
For the record, we asked Nissan pointlessly about the Z Proto in the game. Oddly enough, a spokesman responded by saying that the automaker “could not comment on future production plans or specifications.” We reiterated that our question about Nissan’s involvement in the game, not the actual car or the so-called production 400Z on which it could lead. Honestly, the initial reaction made us wonder if Nissan is actually bothers its production engine with this video game look, at least in terms of maximum power output. If so, the new Z could indeed be a machine.
7 Photos
The other possibility is that it’s just a game, and to make the Z Proto look good, a random HP figure is plugged in, because why not? Because we practically drove the Z Proto in PC3, it is definitely zippered and it gives a neat six-cylinder growl with a proper attenuation of the digital turbos. As shown above, it definitely looks sharp in PC3, inside and out. While Nissan’s hurried response certainly raised our eyebrows, 445 hp could very well just be a fictional super-Z to play with in a nice game.
Nissan has promised to get back to us regarding their involvement with Project Cars 3, but the answer will come as soon as it is available. When – or if – we receive the answer, we will definitely share it here.