Rumor: Nissan 370Z Hybrid in the works

Rumor: Nissan working on a 370Z Hybrid, with plug-in EV mode

Posted: May 05, 2009

Filed under: Hybrids, Green News, Nissan

2010 will be an exciting “green” year for Nissan. The Japanese automaker plans on introducing its electric-vehicle at the end of next year along with a hybrid version of the Infiniti M. Nonetheless, Nissan has been very slow at the wheel on the “green highway” when compared to its domestic rivals, Toyota and Honda.

Besides the two programs mentioned above, we haven’t heard much on Nissan hybrid/electric-vehicle initiatives. Usually, it’s right about here we say “until-now” so – until now.

Japanese sources are saying that Nissan is planning on using the hybrid system from the Infiniti M hybrid in the 370Z sports car in 2011, giving us the first high-performance hybrid sports car on the market.

The 370Z hybrid is rumored to get a version of the VQ 3.7L V6 engine mated to an electric-motor that runs on lithium-ion batteries (being produced by a joint venture between Nissan and NEC). Sources say that the hybrid system will also feature a plug-in electric-vehicle mode for regular city driving.

Insiders say that Nissan is projecting an average fuel-economy of 35 mpg combined.

2009 Nissan 370Z:

- By: Kap Shah

Source: 370Z.com

GMfan87

why? lets take a light SPORTS CAR that gets decent mpg and weigh it down with a battery pack and all of the other hybrid hardware just to squeeze some more mpg out of it...seems silly to me, gas milage is kind of irrelivant in a car that you're going to be hammering the throttle in all the time

Bobmarley

I agree...at this point it doesnt make sense to invest in hybrid technology used in sports cars...especially when they havent produced a hybrid of their own (altima with toyota tech doesnt count). And the 370z hybrid would cost more and most likely sacrifice some performance...either is a bust for Z buyers