The Nissan Z GT4 Race Car Is Here With 450 HP and It Looks Sick
The Nissan Z GT4 race car also makes 443 lb-ft of torque and loses about 400 pounds of body weight over the street version.
Perhaps the second-greatest things to follow the all-new 2023 Nissan Z are all the resulting and inevitable builds. On Tuesday, Nissan unveiled the new Nissan Z GT4 race car—and, friends, it looks terrific. There's a real Darth Maul color scheme going on here, but in a good way.
Nissan gave us a preview of the GT4 Z back in September, yet was mum on further details such as specs and interior. With Tuesday's SEMA unveiling, we now know that the race car makes 450 horsepower and 443 lb-ft of torque from its twin-turbocharged VR30DDTT V6 engine, up from 400 hp and 350 lb-ft of torque from the street-legal version. Curb weight has also been cut down from between 3,486 to 3,602 pounds to 3,108 pounds. Nissan notes all of these numbers are "subject to balance of performance" as defined by the SRO, however.
Traditional Nismo livery decorated to GT4 Z we saw in September; this black-and-red version was built especially for SEMA that Nissan says joins its vintage racing heritage with a more modern design. Big "Z" logos decorate the rear half in an interesting pattern that fades gracefully from red to black, while the hood wears the number 23 in a red circle. This, apparently, is "Nissan's exclusive number" and the red circle represents the rising sun. With its squared-off grille, big wing, and black wheels, the car looks sort of like a Dodge Viper ACR from afar.
Inside, you can see that it's fully caged and stripped out. But it's still familiar to Z fans. The car maintains the trio of dash gauges, as well as the trio of climate controls beneath the screen and the circular door latches. Even the cupholder made it into the race version.
The car is meant for drivers in the United States' SRO Pirelli GT4 America series and Japan's Super Taikyu Series. Order books open in mid-2023, with deliveries starting in 2024. Nismo will provide technical support. Each car is priced at $229,000 and includes the race package but does not include tax, shipping, or handling.
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