A Nissan Silva Coupe with a Schizophrenic Personality

In October of 2010 we brought you a Toyota Soarer / Lexus SC that had been transformed into an abomination with a Mercedes-Benz CLK DTM front end and a Nissan 200SX rump. It was bad, but I still liked it better than the snooze-mobile that was the ‘91 Soarer / CS.

Well, from the same website that brought us that automotive mullet comes yet another creation that’s been refashioned into something else. This time its a Nissan Silva. This particular freak of coach building features a Mercedes-Benz rear end (or at very least the taillights) and Nissan 350Z front end. The result is less than impressive.

I don’t know what’s worse – the matte white that makes the car look like it’s still in primer or the cacophony of weird vents jutting out of the plastic snap-on bodywork. Despite the owner’s best efforts, the rear bumper clearly doesn’t fit, jutting out beyond the rear wheels and necessitating the addition of those awful rear bulges. Mitsuoka could do better with a Nissan Micra and papier-mâché.

Though don’t take my word for it. Study the pictures and deliver your verdict in the comments section below

9:15 PM | 0 comments | Read More

A Nissan Silva Coupe with a Schizophrenic Personality

In October of 2010 we brought you a Toyota Soarer / Lexus SC that had been transformed into an abomination with a Mercedes-Benz CLK DTM front end and a Nissan 200SX rump. It was bad, but I still liked it better than the snooze-mobile that was the ‘91 Soarer / CS.

Well, from the same website that brought us that automotive mullet comes yet another creation that’s been refashioned into something else. This time its a Nissan Silva. This particular freak of coach building features a Mercedes-Benz rear end (or at very least the taillights) and Nissan 350Z front end. The result is less than impressive.

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4:44 PM | 0 comments | Read More

No Really, this is a Mitsubishi Eclipse Spider and it's Powered by a Subaru Turbo Boxer!

Don't let the Nissan 350Z snout and the Infiniti G35 Coupe (JDM Nissan Skyline V35) rear end design fool you; the glitzy painted roadster model you're gawking at is in fact a JDM Mitsubishi Eclipse Spider - possibly a third generation model. But before you try to digest all that info let us quickly add that Paint Star's Tokyo Auto Salon project car also hides a Subaru-sourced 2.0-liter turbocharged flat-four engine under its 350Z-shaped hood. See the rest of the photos in our image gallery after the break.

4:35 AM | 0 comments | Read More

No Really, this is a Mitsubishi Eclipse Spider and it's Powered by a Subaru Turbo Boxer!

Don't let the Nissan 350Z snout and the Infiniti G35 Coupe (JDM Nissan Skyline V35) rear end design fool you; the glitzy painted roadster model you're gawking at is in fact a JDM Mitsubishi Eclipse Spider - possibly a third generation model. But before you try to digest all that info let us quickly add that Paint Star's Tokyo Auto Salon project car also hides a Subaru-sourced 2.0-liter turbocharged flat-four engine under its 350Z-shaped hood. See the rest of the photos in our image gallery after the break.

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5:05 PM | 0 comments | Read More

Nissan 350Z Poses as a Porsche Panamera Convertible...

[Updated gallery] The Tokyo Auto Salon is always a blast featuring all sorts of unique tuning proposals, like this here Porsche wannabe. When our Tokyo show man Phil e-mailed the above photo, we assumed it pictured a Porsche -possibly a Boxster- modified to resemble a Panamera Convertible. We were quickly proven wrong, however, when he sent over an image of the interior and some video footage revealing that the Porsche Panamera tune was actually a...masqueraded Nissan 350Z Roadster. More photos after the jump.

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New Nissan 350Z Super Sports Car Modifications Concept

Nissan's sporty, front-wheel-drive Maxima sedan returns for 2010 with no changes to its standard 3.5-liter V6 engine.

The Maxima's VQ35DE engine is part of Nissan's ubiquitous VQ engine family, also used in the Altima, Murano, Quest, and earlier versions of the 350Z sports car. The VQ is one of the most respected engines in the auto industry, appearing on Ward's 10 Best Engines list every year from 1997 to 2007.

The VQ35DE is an all-aluminum, 24-valve DOHC V6, with Nissan's continuously variable valve timing system (CVTCS) on both the intake and exhaust cams. In 2009, Nissan made extensive changes to this engine, revising the intake and exhaust manifolds; raising its compression ratio from 10.3 to 10.6:1; reducing internal friction and reciprocating mass; and adding CVTCS to the exhaust cam, as well as the intake. Those modifications raised the engine's output to its present level of 290 horsepower and 261 lb-ft of torque.

The 3.5-liter engine endows the Maxima with strong performance. Some reviewers find off-the-line response slightly lazy, a function of the standard Xtronic continuously variable transmission, but once on the move, acceleration is impressive. Fuel economy is also reasonable for the engine's size and power. The EPA rates the Maxima at 19/26 city/highway, although the V6 requires premium fuel.

While it is powerful and reasonably frugal, the 3.5-liter V6 is also noticeably gruffer and less refined than the 3.0-liter version of this engine found in earlier Maximas. While some critics like its throaty growl and sporty full-throttle roar, others find it excessively noisy, and complain that it drones at cruising speeds.

A more sophisticated 3.7-liter version of this engine, the VQ37VHR, has replaced the 3.5-liter V6 in the 370Z and most six-cylinder Infinitis. Nissan has not yet announced plans to offer the 3.7-liter engine in the Maxima and Altima.

2:21 PM | 0 comments | Read More

Unichip Introduces New ECU Upgrade for Nissan 350Z

The Nissan 350Z has long been replaced by the all-new 370Z but the tuning industry isn't about to stop introducing performance upgrades for the Japanese sports car any time soon.

Now, Unichip Europe has released a new plug and play 'U-connect' piggy back ECU for the 350Z that adds another 20bhp raising the V6's peak output from a measured 264bhp to a mighty 284 bhp. Similarly, torque increases by 26 lb.ft, bringing the total from 236 lb.ft to 262 lb.ft.

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Nissan Club Celebrates Z's 40th Birthday with 'Back to the Future' Photo Shoot

Joining the festivities for the Z's 40th anniversary, the folks over at the NICOClub, a forum dedicated to Nissan and Infiniti cars, published these two black and white photos of the first 240Z and its modern day successor, the 370Z. The original picture with the two pre-production 240Zs and a Datsun 510 support car that were driven by Datsun engineers was shot in October 1969 on Van Buren Street in downtown Phoenix.

Nico Club forum member 'AZhitman' and his pal re-staged the photo shoot at the same exact location during a test drive last year replacing the 240Zs with two Nissan 370Zs and the Datsun with a new Nissan Maxima that were positioned in the same way as they were 40 years ago.

PS: We digitally enhanced the second photo with the 370Zs to give the impression of an aged effect

Via: NICOClub , Photos: AZHitman

12:05 PM | 0 comments | Read More

Nissan Club Celebrates Z's 40th Birthday with 'Back to the Future' Photo Shoot

Joining the festivities for the Z's 40th anniversary, the folks over at the NICOClub, a forum dedicated to Nissan and Infiniti cars, published these two black and white photos of the first 240Z and its modern day successor, the 370Z. The original picture with the two pre-production 240Zs and a Datsun 510 support car that were driven by Datsun engineers was shot in October 1969 on Van Buren Street in downtown Phoenix.

Nico Club forum member 'AZhitman' and his pal re-staged the photo shoot at the same exact location during a test drive last year replacing the 240Zs with two Nissan 370Zs and the Datsun with a new Nissan Maxima that were positioned in the same way as they were 40 years ago.

PS: We digitally enhanced the second photo with the 370Zs to give the impression of an aged effect

Via: NICOClub , Photos: AZHitman

12:05 PM | 0 comments | Read More

Nissan 350Z Dragster that hits 60mph in 1.2 Seconds to Race at Santa Pod

The first ever Pro Class 350Z to be seen in Europe will perform at the FIA European Finals at the Santa Pod Raceway in the UK that runs from September 10th to 13th, 2009. Created by owner and driver John Bradshaw, the Project Zed dragster is powered by a Nissan 350Z 3.5-litre V6 engine producing almost 1,900 horsepower.

"It's incredible to finally have the car ready to test now and we are all very excited by its potential. It really is a car that is capable of setting records around the world and just shows what a Nissan engine is capable of producing," said Bradshaw.

The hand built dragster, which will be the only Japanese engined car to compete in Mainstream drag racing at this year's Santa Pod, is said to accelerate from rest to 60mph (96km/h) in a mere 1.2 seconds while 0-168mph (270km/h) comes after only 4.1 seconds and 0-215mph (346km/h) in just 6.6 seconds.

Nissan, which is supporting the Project Zed dragster, will have a stand at the show displaying its latest road-going sports cars, the GT-R and 370Z.

11:12 AM | 0 comments | Read More

Nissan 350Z Dragster that hits 60mph in 1.2 Seconds to Race at Santa Pod

The first ever Pro Class 350Z to be seen in Europe will perform at the FIA European Finals at the Santa Pod Raceway in the UK that runs from September 10th to 13th, 2009. Created by owner and driver John Bradshaw, the Project Zed dragster is powered by a Nissan 350Z 3.5-litre V6 engine producing almost 1,900 horsepower.

"It's incredible to finally have the car ready to test now and we are all very excited by its potential. It really is a car that is capable of setting records around the world and just shows what a Nissan engine is capable of producing," said Bradshaw.

The hand built dragster, which will be the only Japanese engined car to compete in Mainstream drag racing at this year's Santa Pod, is said to accelerate from rest to 60mph (96km/h) in a mere 1.2 seconds while 0-168mph (270km/h) comes after only 4.1 seconds and 0-215mph (346km/h) in just 6.6 seconds.

Nissan, which is supporting the Project Zed dragster, will have a stand at the show displaying its latest road-going sports cars, the GT-R and 370Z.

11:12 AM | 0 comments | Read More