The Return Of Z

The z proto is more than just a retro-styled concept – it represents nissan’s fight to regain control of the spirit that once made it legendary

- Cameron Kirby

There is a long shadow cast from the 21st level of Nissan’s headquarters in Yokohama, Japan. The shadow has a vast reach, touching everything associated with the manufacturer since the turn of the millennium. Cast not by a physical object, this shadow belongs to the ghost of Le Cost Killer – Carlos Ghosn.

The disgraced, exiled, and now international fugitive former leader of Nissan earned a reputation outside the company for his cut-throat leadership and was praised for saving the Japanese manufacturer from the brink of financial ruin. Internally, however, plans of a daring corporate coup to dethrone the polarising Ghosn had been put into motion more than a year before handcuffs were slapped onto the Lebanese-born CEO’s wrists.

Now, Nissan is hoping to break free of the two-decade legacy associated with Ghosn, and will be doing so in a coupe-shaped chariot.

Behold, the Nissan Z Proto, a pre-production look at the seventh generation of Nissan’s Z-car family.

Along with the Ariya electric SUV, the Z Proto is one of Nissan’s first major product reveals since Ghosn was contorted into a black box and smuggled out of Japan. Where the Ariya speaks to Nissan’s future, the Z Proto staunchly, and proudly, represents the company’s heritage and history.