2024 Nissan Z Heritage Edition Finally Brings the Retro Split Grille to the US

Years after it was first teased, the Fairlady Z432R-inspired Nissan Z appearance package is landing Stateside.
Front three-quarter view of 2024 Nissan Z Heritage Edition.
Nissa

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Rarely does anyone come to me for style or design advice—if you saw the way I dress, you’d understand why—but if you ask me, the prettiest car in Nissan’s history is the S30-generation Datsun 240Z. And now, Nissan wants to leverage enthusiasts’ love of the iconic 240Z to sell you a heavily marked-up Nissan Z Heritage Edition.

The biggest visual difference between the Nissan Z Heritage Edition and the normal one is up front, where the new nostalgia-hunting model has an updated front fascia. Its rectangular grille is now split into two halves, with the lower air intake wider and more trapezoidal. There’s also an exclusive New Sight Orange paint color, 19-inch Watanabe-inspired black wheels, and the subtlest of glued-on fender extensions. There are a couple of black stripes, too: one that runs across the top of the Z, and one on each door sill. Aside from that, it’s business as usual.

Die-hard Z fans will recognize that this whole exterior treatment was teased at the Tokyo Auto Salon in 2022 in a concept Nissan dubbed the “Customized Proto.” A version of that car was eventually sold to Japanese buyers, and now, we’re getting the same privilege.

Inside, nothing’s changed. The Heritage Edition has the same driver-focused, but ultimately pretty barren, all-black interior you’d expect in a normal Z. Thankfully, Nissan still offers the Heritage Edition with a six-speed manual transmission, along with the optional nine-speed automatic.

Nothing has changed under the hood, either. The Heritage Edition sticks with the same twin-turbo 3.0-liter V6, with its 400 horsepower and 350 lb-ft of torque. A mechanical limited-slip differential is still standard, as are the typical Nissan Performance brakes with red calipers.

The Heritage Edition is purely a cosmetics package, but adding the tweaked front fascia and a unique color comes with a hefty price bump. When it goes on sale this summer, the nostalgic Z will start at $60,275. That’s a $16,000 rise over the standard Z, without having any mechanical advantages. And while the orange paint is cool, and does remind me of the some of the Datsun 240Z’s more vibrant hues, colors and stickers can only do so much.

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