after years of waiting, we're now under two weeks away from seeing nissan's replacement for the aging 370z, the z proto. in an effort to drum up hype for the car, nissan has been releasing teaser videos giving us glimpses of its retro-inspired design. this latest clip is the most exciting yet, because it hints at the possibility of a manual transmission.
the 30-second teaser, uploaded to nissan's youtube channel yesterday, shows us rear light clusters inspired by the 300zx, and body lines taken from the original 240z. but the most interesting part of the video comes near the end, where a driver is shown reaching for what seems to be a shift knob in the center console.
granted, we're not ever shown what the shifter looks like, so for all we know, it could just be an automatic gear selector that nissan is teasing. though considering the car's sporting intentions, we're hopeful it's not.
nissan's been coy on what'll sit under the hood of the z proto, but rumors have suggested it could be powered by a 400-hp twin-turbo v-6. we'll know for sure on september 15. in the meantime, head on over to our earlier post about the new z to read up on everything else we know about the car so far.
from: road & track