Styling.....Porsche Cayman, 350Z & the 240Z...your thoughts?

[toecutter]

I think you'll all agree the whole retro styling come back for car manufacturers has been big over the last few years. Cars like the new Mustang, Fords new GT40, and recently I've seen magazines showing off a retro concept Lamborghini Miura that looks kick arse. Well I was thinking about this in regards to the look of the 350Z even though it is a nice looking car it's a real shame the Japs did'nt go down the retro path on the 350Z. Perhaps there are issues with the apparent really bad aerodynamics in the S30 as I've recently read on a hybridZ thread but I'm sure they could have worked more closely around the original S30 styling. Having said all that I was admiring the lines on the new Porsche Cayman whilst on the freeway recently and noticed how close the cars rear end styling is to the old S30, take notice of the rear quarter window, the bump over the rear wheel and even the rear hatch glass.

[zedevan]

that lambo is dead sexy, and really looks like a modern facelift of the orginal, and has the same sort of overhangs as a zed.

i see more of a zed in this lexas than in that porsche though (but i'm yet to see one in person)

[hls30.com]

I don't see anything S30esque in either of these cars. If you want to see a possable bolt on replacement, have a ganader at the Quarter Window of a Tiburon...Check it out in person, I think you will be suprised!

Not quite the same sort of company, but neither is a S30!

Will

PS, shame on you for using "nice looking car" and 350Z in the same sentance-I only did it to point out your how could you do that to the phrase: "nice looking"?

A toad is a toad is a toad, and that 350Z one just happens to be a rebadged Audi!

[agemeansnothing]

About that my mom is thinking about buying one of those or a Z06 Corvette.

[jmark]

My son says Nissan needs to take the DB9 shape and work with that to get a retro Z. After seeing some of his sketches I agree.....

[VaGuS510]

Retro designs are rather lame. These designers couldn't think of something new so they remade something old. These designers couldn't even be considered designers. Think about this, what is the next Mustang or Bettle going to look like, they have nowhere to go. Not like Porsche who hasalways evolved their design and made something that looks like a Porsche. I think the car designers that really deserve respect are those designers who make something truely radical, something truely unique. The Next Z should be a car that continues to move forward, but keeps the classic cues that have been lost (the long nose for instance). This is what the Corvette has become. The Corvette design has been constanly changing. In fact the only thing that made the first 3 generations the same car is there name. But i would like to see more 240z in the 350Z. It should cost less, weigh less, and have that long nose at very least. But by no means should it be a 240Z, if someone wants a 240Z they can go buy a 240Z.

[260DET]

Pity about the shape of the 350Z but I'm not sure how much input the Japanese had into the styling, seeing that is wasn't styled in Japan. Some of the interior 'old school' interior bits are close to tacky too, so contrived. The Z32 looks better as a straightout modern design than the 350.

Agree about the Aston Martin styling as being much more appropriate, there was a Maserati that came out a few years ago that looked just right too.

[toecutter]

PS, shame on you for using "nice looking car" and 350Z in the same sentance-I only did it to point out your how could you do that to the phrase: "nice looking"?

A toad is a toad is a toad, and that 350Z one just happens to be a rebadged Audi!

Will, I'm not a huge fan of the 350Z and a lot of people compare its looks to the audi TT, maybe they should have just called it 350 either way just wanted to get my point across without offending any 350Z owners.

My son says Nissan needs to take the DB9 shape and work with that to get a retro Z. After seeing some of his sketches I agree.....

Well it does have more styling similar to the S30 than the 350Z has.

The Next Z should be a car that continues to move forward, but keeps the classic cues that have been lost (the long nose for instance)

VaGuS510,

This is exactly my point. Looking at that Porsches window reminds me of the sort of styling the 350Z should have had and a long bonnet to match however all of this has been lost in the 350Z. However as far as Porsche go we've seen them try and deviate from their classic 911 design during the late 70's and 80's with cars like their 928S, 944 etc and they were a relative flop so a whole series of cars continued to have been based closely to the old 911 style, even the late boxster that saved Porsche from going down the toilet still has that old 911 shape. It would have been nice to see more S30 in the 350Z. I suppose they made a ballsy move with the last 300ZX and the progression of style was based on the evolution of that car.

[VaGuS510]

The front engine Porsches, 924,928, and 924 were great cars. The 944 was one of the best handling cars of its time and made 250 hp from a turbo 4cyl. in 1985! I think Porsche has a problem marketing anything but a 911. The problem is that the 911 doesn't need marketing, it has a loyal fan base that desires a 911 no matter what. These loyal fans see the 911 as the only real Porsche so it is inheriently difficult for Porsche to introduce a new product. The Boxter turned out well becase it looks like a Porsche.

[mriz]

I just don't like the fact I can hardly tell the difference between the Infinity whatever it's called, the Audi and the 350. I think they should have put some hint of the S30 into the Z32 and let it evolve that way.I'm partial to those designs though. They shot for the right demographic group 35-55 yrs old who drove the origional Z . Making an educated guess there. But missed with the style in my opinion . I think it is a nice car but when you put a Z on it that changes everything.

[Pennyman]

My son says Nissan needs to take the DB9 shape and work with that to get a retro Z. After seeing some of his sketches I agree.....

Simply put, if you gave the DB9 headlight buckets and a rectangular grill, it would look like a Z car. The DB9 shape oozes S30-ness IMO

The 350Z is an amalgamation of all the Z cars, and I think Nissan took it in the right direction. Honestly, I think this "future-retro" design idea is just meant to appeal to aging baby boomers who want to see familiar shapes.

[hls30.com]

Will, I'm not a huge fan of the 350Z and a lot of people compare its looks to the audi TT, maybe they should have just called it 350 either way just wanted to get my point across without offending any 350Z owners.

I understood, I was just giving you grief! I am a fan of the technology in the 350, and absolutey not a fan of its"styling"-or more importantly-lack there of. Don't forget this is a "ClassicZCar web site, and that sorely excludes the 350Z. My opinion of the 350Z is Nissan built a beautiful car and wrapped it in an ugly body.

Someone made a comment about designing something new being more difficult than updating an old design-if it is something new, make it all new-new name included!

As for retro designs being lame, every time a designer makes a deposit in the porcelin convenience, it looks different, but I don't see them keeping biostucco! The only thing lame about a retro design occurs when the balance between new and old is severly out of whack-and any designer who can't apply technology to improve an existing design is not skilled enough in the history of the project and the current level of technology.

If you want to tie it to something old, give the definitive vein of the lineage in more than just print and stretched contrivance of impression from an odd bit or two. If a desingner wants to make a name for himself, let him do it in a new project, and NOT a continuance of an existing one.

In a previous thread I pointed out the resemblances frequently past from parents to childeren-as a natural evolution the "designers" at Nissan should have drawn from instead of against.

Every Z should look more related to a S30 than to any Audi...

WIll