2011 Nissan 370Z Roadster Adds Available RearView Monitor
Nissan Z® Roadster Joins 370Z Coupe in Nissan Showrooms Fall, 2010
For 2011, the seductively styled Z® Roadster returns with an added RearView monitor to once again offer everything the hardtop Z® Coupe does – and more. As in more classic open-air sports car driving excitement. More sun, moon and stars. And more refinement than any Z® convertible that has ever come before – including a standard automatic latching power top and Nissan Intelligent Key®. Also offered are an array of technology and convenience features, including the Z® Roadster standard heating and cooling ventilated net seats, Bluetooth™ Hands-free Phone System, satellite radio and available advanced Nissan Navigation System. The 2011 370Z Roadster is scheduled to go on sale at Nissan retailers nationwide in the fall of 2010.
| “As always, the 370Z Roadster delivers an exhilarating connection to the air, wind and environment on top of the new Z® Coupe’s exceptional levels of performance,” said Mark McDade, Director, Marketing, Nissan Canada Inc. “But perhaps unexpected for a car this sporty is its greatly enhanced refinement and quality – as seen in features such as its one-touch, auto-locking convertible top, beautifully crafted interior and its new available RearView Monitor.”
A Truly Authentic Roadster The 370Z Roadster’s most obvious departure from the 370Z Coupe is its convertible top. The soft-top roof was designed with an emphasis on three key areas: to provide a sleek silhouette matching the new Z®’s stunning styling with the top up or down, to offer easy single-action open-close operation, and to provide an enjoyable top-down experience with reduced wind turbulence and all-climate driver/passenger comfort. |
The standard black cloth convertible top features a fabric inner liner, which provides a quality appearance and helps reduce noise intrusion into the cabin, along with an enlarged (versus the previous generation Z® Roadster) glass rear window with an integrated electric rear window defroster. The top operation takes approximately 20 seconds start-to-finish and is controlled by either a center console-mounted switch or by a button located on the doors. The automatic latch system secures the top to – or releases it from – the windshield header without driver intervention. The shape and position of the glass wind deflector, located between the fixed headrest bars, has been optimized to reduce turbulence into the cabin.
Like the 370Z Coupe, the Z® Roadster’s exterior is more aggressive in appearance and lighter and tighter in structure than the previous generation. The wheelbase is nearly 4” / 10.16 cm shorter (100.4” / 255 cm versus 104.3” / 264.9 cm) and overall length is reduced by 2.6” / 6.6 cm (167.2” / 424.6 cm versus 169.8” 431.3 cm ). The 2011 Z® Roadster features an aluminum hood, door panels and trunk for reduced weight. At the same time, the body structure was extensively revised, improving rigidity and stability. The 370Z Roadster includes additional structural reinforcement (over the 370Z Coupe), including in the A-pillars and side sills.
The Z® Roadster’s exterior design incorporates the look and feel of the Z® Coupe, including its signature long nose/short cockpit proportions, vertical door handles and distinctive new headlight/taillight treatment, which features a fierce “boomerang” shape. High Intensity Discharge (HID) bi-functional xenon headlights with auto on/off feature are standard.
The 370Z Roadster is offered in seven exterior colours: Solid Red, Magnetic Black, Airstream, Gun Metallic, Hakone White, Prussian Blue and Black Rose. Inside the stunning exterior, true to its sports car heritage, the Z® Roadster’s interior is completely driver-centric, with its three-layer design grouping items by how a driver sees information, operates the controls and is held in place – so drivers feel completely connected and engaged whenever and wherever they drive, top up or down.
The Z® Roadster features unique leather-appointed “net” seats with 4-way power/4-way manual operation on the driver’s seat (4-way power on the passenger’s seat). These second-generation net seats are exclusive to the Z® Roadster and have integrated heating and cooling functions – ideal for open air driving no matter what the outside temperature. Adjustable front seat Active Head Restraints are also standard.
The Z® Roadster’s 2-seat layout includes a deeply scooped instrument panel with a full-length centre console separating the driver and passenger’s seat. The instrument panel retains the traditional Z® 3-pod cluster with oil temperature, voltmeter and clock, while the speedometer and tachometer now include an “initial sweep” function, coming alive when the car is first started.
The sporty steering wheel is a new “oval” 3-spoke design, which offers baseball-style stitching, improved thumb grips and palm rest areas for improved feel on long drives. The surface of the leather-wrapped wheel is “shaved” to provide a more kidney-like shape to better fit in the hand. The manual transmission shifter is specially padded to improve the accuracy of diagonal shifts and to feel softer in the hand for forward and backward motions.
Standard interior comfort and convenience features include Nissan Intelligent Key™with Push Button Ignition, power windows with one-touch auto up/down feature, power door locks with auto-lock feature and a centre console box with a non-intrusive cover design.
Other features include automatic climate control, two 12-volt power outlets, three beverage holders (two in door panels, one in centre console.)
The Touring model features a 6CD Bose™ audio system with illuminated steering wheel-mounted controls, eight speakers (includes dual subwoofer)MP3/WMA playback, XM™ Satellite Radio (XM™ subscription required, sold separately), Bluetooth™ Hands-free Phone System, HomeLink™ Universal Transceiver and aluminum-trimmed pedals. This is the first time Bluetooth? and satellite radio have been available on a Z® convertible.
The optional Navigation Package includes a new RearView Monitor, the touch-screen Nissan Hard Drive Navigation System , 9.3GB Music Box hard drive for digital music storage and playback and a USB fort for iPod™ connectivity.
The 370Z Touring Roadster model has a choice of Grey, Black or Wine leather-appointed net seating.
Open Air, Open Roads – An Unbeatable Combination
Roadster or Coupe, the new Z?s share one of the most advanced drivetrains available for affordable sports cars today. The Z® Roadster’s long list of cutting edge performance-focused technologies includes a standard 332-horsepower 3.7-litre DOHC V6 engine with Variable Valve Event and Lift Control (VVEL), choice of 7-speed automatic transmission or close-ratio 6-speed manual with available “SynchroRev Match” (the world’s first synchronized downshift rev matching manual transmission), refined 4-wheel independent suspension and 4-wheel vented disc brakes (with available Nissan Sport Brakes). “The new 370Z Roadster lives in the same sweet spot of performance, style and value that the Z® Coupe does,” said McDade. “Open air driving just begs for open roads and the 370Z Convertible is the perfect companion.”
For 2011, the Z Roadster enjoys the benefits of its 2010 upgrades, which gave it 26 more horsepower and 2 lb-ft more torque (332 horsepower @ 7,000 rpm and 270 lb-ft of torque @ 5,200 rpm, compared with the previous 3.5-litre V6’s 306 horsepower @ 6,800 rpm and 268 lb-ft of toque @ 4,800 rpm).
Along with its larger displacement, the 3.7-litre engine gives better power delivery all the way to the 7,500 rpm redline, improved low-end power and more high-end torque, creating an entirely new driving experience. Key to the enhanced performance is the VVEL system, which is able to optimize intake valve open/close movements, allowing the needed air to be sent promptly to the combustion chamber at the precisely optimized time. Since the VVEL system can adjust to open the valves slightly, it improves fuel efficiency by reducing camshaft friction and fuel waste. It also provides cleaner emissions by allowing for quicker warm-up of the catalyst and by stabilizing combustion when the engine is cool.
The 2011 Z®Roadster is offered with a choice of two advanced transmissions – a close-ratio 6-speed manual or 7-speed automatic. The 6-speed manual is available with SynchroRev Match™ (included in the optional Sport Package), which allows drivers of any skill level to experience professional-like gear shift performance. The SynchroRev Match™ function automatically controls and adjusts engine speed when shifting to the exact speed of the next gear position, essentially “blipping” the throttle to smooth out any up/down shifts. This not only allows the driver to focus more on braking and steering, it improves vehicle balance and smoothness by reducing the typical “shock” when the clutch is engaged. The system can be deactivated with a button next to the shifter for drivers who prefer less vehicle intervention.
The available 7-speed automatic includes Downshift Rev Matching (DRM) and Adaptive Shift Control (ASC) and is designed to offer quick, manual-like shifting when operated in manual mode.
Drivers can use the standard paddle shifters or the shift lever. The 7-speed’s wide gear ratios offer improved fuel efficiency, while the Adaptive Shift Control is designed to adjust to the driver’s driving style.
Estimated fuel economy is 11.9 L/100km City and 8.1 L/100km Highway for the Manual transmission and 11.6 L/100km City and 8.0 L/100km Highway for the Automatic transmission.
The Z® Roadster also utilizes the Z® Coupe’s advanced 4-wheel independent suspension. The double-wishbone front suspension (which replaces the lower multi-link setup in the 350Z) uses lighter forged aluminum arms and a lightweight rigid aluminum-alloy cradle, along with a lighter stabilizer bar with a 35 percent improved lever ratio. The 4-link rear suspension is also stiffer and lighter, with the rear cradle entirely integrated into a single part. “High response” shock absorbers are utilized on each corner for improved ride comfort.
The standard 370Z Roadster wheel and tire package features 18x8.0-inch front/18x9.0-inch lightweight aluminum-alloy wheels with P225/50R18 front/P245/45R18 rear Bridgestone Potenza RE050A summer tires. Available as part of the optional Sport Package are 19-inch RAYS forged lightweight aluminum-alloy wheels with Bridgestone Potenza RE050A P245/40R19 front/P275/35R19 tires.
The Z®’s standard 4-wheel vented disc brake system includes Anti-Lock Braking System (ABS) with Electronic Brake force Distribution (EBD) and Brake Assist (BA). The optional Sport Package includes Nissan Sport Brakes with large diameter 14.0-inch front and 13.8-inch rear rotors (versus 12.6-inch front/rear standard rotors) with 4-piston front and 2-piston rear aluminum calipers.
Steering is provided by a vehicle-speed-sensitive power-assisted rack-and-pinion design. Unwanted steering kickback and vibrations are reduced with the addition of a solenoid valve that acts like a damper when there is a harsh impact load. A Vehicle Dynamic Control (VDC) system is standard.
The Nissan 370Z Roadster’s list of standard safety features includes the Nissan Advanced Air Bag System (AABS) with dual-stage supplemental front air bags with seat belt and occupant classification sensors; front seat-mounted side impact supplemental air bags; door-mounted curtain air bags; and seat belts with pretensioners and load limiters.
Other standard equipment includes Active Head Restraints, Zone Body Construction with front and rear crumple zones, Nissan Vehicle Immobilizer System, Vehicle Security System and Tire Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS).
Well-Equipped Model
The new 370Z Touring Roadster includes the heated and cooling leather-appointed power net seats, HomeLink™ Universal Transceiver, Bluetooth™ Hands-free Phone System, 8-speaker Bose™ audio system, XM™ Satellite Radio (XM™subscription, sold separately) and aluminum-trimmed pedals.
Two option packages are offered on the Touring model: the Sport Package, with 19-inch RAYS forged wheels and Bridgestone Potenza tires, Nissan Sport Brakes, SynchroRev Match (6-speed manual transmission only) and the Navigation Package, with new RearView Monitor, Hard Drive-based Nissan Navigation System, 9.3GB Music Box Hard Drive and USB connectivity.
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