Reaching for the top

By ALASTAIR SLOANE motoring editor

Back in March, Nissan New Zealand executives didn't want to talk about the soft-top version of the two-door 350Z sports car, the company's halo car in an upcoming line-up of new models.

They had just launched the hardtop 350Z coupe, the spiritual successor to the original 240Z of 30 years ago, and were still buzzing over the way the new model looked and drove.

"We're busy enough with orders for the coupe to worry about the convertible," they said. "It's a long way away yet," they said. "We haven't even looked at pricing or spec levels," they said.

What was a long way away in March is now only months away. The 350Z Roadster, as the soft-top is called, will go on sale in Australia in October and in New Zealand soon after.

It is expected to be priced up to $10,000 more than the coupe, which starts at $64,990 for the automatic Touring and $67,990 for the six-speed manual Track model.

The price here is a rough guess based loosely on Nissan Australia's A$69,990 for the manual Roadster and A$72,790 for the automatic, prices announced across the Tasman yesterday. In both cases, the soft-top Roadster costs A$10,000 more than the hardtop coupe.

A similar price premium in New Zealand would roughly put the automatic Roadster at between $70,000-$75,000 and the six-speed manual at $75,000-$80,000.

Nissan here is still working on the final prices and equipment levels. It is understood it wanted to launch the Roadster earlier than Australia, but has settled on a November unveiling.

The drop-top Roadster was first seen at the New York motor show in April, and its compact silhouette takes the powerful lines of the 350Z sports coupe one step further.

The power-operated soft-top features a heated-glass rear window and takes only 20 seconds to raise or lower. Nissan figures the convertible will account for about 20 per cent of Z-car volume worldwide.

Top-up or top-down, the 350Z Roadster is a stylish example of what Nissan says will be a line-up of bold, exciting performance vehicles.

The Roadster shares the hardtop's 3.5-litre V6 engine, a development of the 3-litre unit in the Maxima, which develops 206kW at 6200rpm and 363Nm at 4800rpm.

The feature of the new V6 is its flat torque curve, with more than 300Nm available from 2000rpm, thanks to variable valve timing.

Nissan says it has reinforced the body of the Roadster to ensure it offers the same driving experience as its sports coupe sibling.

The added strength includes a centre floor V-shaped crossbar connecting the side sills and a front A-shaped crossbar reinforcing the front end. Additional reinforcement was added at the door openings and a triple member was added to the seating area connecting the sides to the floor structure.

The Roadster sits on the same platform as the coupe, one designed to accommodate a relatively long wheelbase, short front and rear overhangs, and an engine well back in the engine bay. Such geometry gives the coupe a 53:47 front/rear weight split which, combined with a wide track and Nissan's acclaimed front and rear multi-link suspension, aids overall balance.

The result is a flat, comfortable ride, good levels of control and grip and sharp, communicative steering.

Performance is helped by the underbody design, which tucks the exhaust, fuel tank and mufflers out of the way for improved aerodynamics.

The coupe feels a lot lighter than its reasonably bulky 1440kg. Nissan puts this down to the use of aluminium in the suspension, which saved more than 20kg in unsprung weight. The overall weight of the Roadster is not yet known.

Nissan said a key component to minimising intrusive wind noise with the top down was a glass deflector between the seats which directed wind out and over the cabin.

In addition, the Bose Audiopilot sound-system adjusts the volume output to compensate for any changes in wind and road noise.

Like the coupe, standard features include carbon-fibre composite drive shaft, traction-control system, viscous limited-slip rear differential, electronic drive-by-wire throttle and dual outlet exhaust.

Braking is via power-assisted 296x24mm ventilated front discs and 292x16mm ventilated rear discs with four-wheel anti-lock braking, with brake assist and electronic brake force distribution fitted as standard.

The 350Z Roadster is shod with "18x8" 6-spoke aluminium-alloy wheels and 225/45R18 91W front and 245/45R18 96W rear high compound performance tyres.

Passive safety features comprise driver and passenger front and side SRS airbags and seatbelts with pretensioners and load limiters.