Nissan Z Proto Spotted Up Close On The Way To Local Cars & Coffee

There's a huge chance that the Nissan 370Z is now out of stock in US dealerships based on a previous report, but Z car fans would know that the next generation of the iconic sports car is right around the corner.

In fact, the Nissan Z Proto, which is said to be more or less the production form of the next Z car, has been spotted in public. Not only was it seen at standstill at a local Cars & Coffee in Nashville, Tennessee, the sports coupe was also captured on public roads while on its way to the event.

Hat tip to Byron Glover Jr., a.k.a. Drive 615 on YouTube, for getting our attention about this lucky happenstance.

The video embedded above pretty much shows us what the next Z car would look like on the road. As expected, we think it's sleek and eye-catching, considering the bright yellow paint it dons. While it was pretty hard to hear the Z Proto's engine during the street encounter, you will be able to hear it during a slow crawl and also while idling when it reached its destination. You can jump to around the 3-minute mark of the video for that.

This isn't the first time we've seen the Z Proto in the metal, though. It was shown to the public back in Tokyo last year, while we actually had a first-hand experience with the car, albeit, we haven't seen or heard it while on the road. Heck, we even saw the next Z car in production form in a spy video that made rounds in March.

 You've seen the design, now don't call the next Z car the 400Z. According to an insider who spilled the beans, the new performance coupe will simply go by the name of "Z" globally, except in Japan where it will be marketed as the "Fairlady Z." It will allegedly start just a hair under $35,000 and yes, it will be powered by a twin-turbo V6 that makes 400 horses.

The next Z car is scheduled to be launched late this year and will enter showrooms in spring 2022.