Nissan designers tell the story of the Z Proto in new video

The Nissan Z Proto has excited enthusiasts using its skillful reimagining from the Z-car idea that simultaneously references the very best of the model’s past. Nissan presently has released a video giving the design backstory from the sports car concept.

The video features Alfonso Albaisa, Nissan senior v . p . of worldwide design, and Saturo Tai, executive design director. Tai says the initial Datsun Z may be the car that as a kid made him desire to be an automobile designer. Once he got to Nissan Design, he was part of the team that did the 1990 300ZX. Albaisa states that he, too, was spurred to become a car designer by the original Z. Early in his career, he was involved with shaping the 350Z.

Tai claims he initially wanted to create something all-new for the latest Z car, but “gradually I had been kind of persuaded [that] maybe we should return to the initial one.” He identifies the grille shape among the elements of the Z Proto that was inspired by the original 240Z, and also the first-generation Z’s scooped-out headlamps are referenced in the rounded, double-arch light graphic from the Z Proto. The taillamps, meanwhile, echo the theme of these on the 1990 300ZX but execute the concept with more today's technology.

Overall, Tai asserts the Z Proto has what he characterizes like a balance between modernness, Z-ness, and Nissan-ness. Browse the video to learn more about the idea process behind the new sports car.