Nissan Z-car gets high-performance workover for Japan

Nissan has pulled the wraps off two sensational new versions of the 350Z in Japan. The Type E, built to mark the Z car's entry into the 2004 Japan GT championship, gets wild body bits that add 180mm at the front and 135mm at the back.

Mechanically, though, the car is standard and the only colour available is silver.

The new Nismo Z S-tune GT, however, enters the fray as a fully tuned car. It has the same long-nose look but also gets a seriously reworked version of the Z car's 206kW 3.5-litre V6, producing a stronger 220kW (296bhp) at 6400rpm and 362Nm at 4400rpm.

Nismo has also reworked the suspension, brakes, wheels and 19-inch tyres and has fitted special sports seats and instruments inside.

The Nismo and Type E will sell through regular Nissan dealerships in Japan, where first deliveries are set to start this April. Nissan expects to sell 20 units a month.

Meanwhile, Leon Daphne, Nissan Australia managing director since August 1991, has become chairman of Nissan Australia and New Zealand. He will step down from his managing role in April.

But 62-year-old Daphne will continue to look after Nissan's casting plant and its Renault arm in Australia.