FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
13 January 2005
GRAN TURIZMO £29,500
Anybody who thinks that a droptop is the only Z newz due in 2005 is wrong. Very wrong. Because on 13 January at Autosport International, Birmingham, Nissan will unveil a limited production, 300PS edition of its 350Z coupe in association with Sony PlayStationâ’s ‘Gran Turismo 4: The Real Driving Simulator’. Only 176 of these Nissan 350Z Gran Turismo 4’s will be available in the UK priced at £29,500. Pre-orders will be taken from 1 February at the traditional time of 3.50pm. And yes, Nissan expects them to go pretty sharpish.
The GT4 is the zippiest 350Z Nissan has yet sold in the UK. The award winning 3.5-litre V6 motor gets revised pistons and camshaft as well as electronic exhaust valve timing control. This helps produce another 20PS to give 300PS developed at 6400 rpm – that’s 200 rpm higher than standard which says a lot about the revier nature of the GT4. Top speed remains a limited 155 mph but at 5.8 seconds, the GT4 is even quicker to 62 mph than standard. It howls louder, too.
All 176 350Z GT4s run on a new design of lacquered, five-spoke, 18” alloy wheel. And no, they won’t be available as an option on the standard Z … nor will the sensational Ultra Yellow paint job that covers 76 of the UK’s allocation of 350Z GT4s. This special paint uses a high-luminance, high-chroma pearl pigment along with three layers of top coat to give a surface that looks like you could dive in and swim about. And forget eye-catching. This colour is eyeball-wrenching. In quiet contrast, the remaining 100 will be painted in stark Kuro Black.
Gran Turizmo £29,500…2
Inside, the interior mirrors that of the 350Z GT Pack with two charcoal leathered, electrically adjustable and heated seats as well as a thumping, 240 watt BOSE tuned stereo, 6 CD in-dash changer and cruise control. Marking out each UK supplied 350Z GT4 will be a numbered, interior mounted plaque and in the boot, owners will find a gift box from Nissan containing a Sony PS2â and GT4 game. So play can continue at home, obviously.
Despite all the above, the 350Z Gran Turismo 4 is priced at just £1000 more than the 350Z GT Pack with RAYS alloys. And like the two other models in the 350Z range, a NISMO bodykit designed with Gran Turismo developers Polyphony Digital can be added for £2495. That’s painted and fitted.
Gran Turismo 4 is Sony’s second full GT game for PS2 and gets its Europe-wide launch, in mid-March. With this latest release, Polyphony takes a massive stride forward towards its aim of crafting the ‘ultimate racing game’. Topping the innovations of Gran Turismo 4 is a mind-boggling new physics model that allows for the most realistic simulation yet across over 50 different race tracks of the driving characteristics of each car. And there are over 700 to choose from. Only one though has been considered worthy enough by Sony to bear the Gran Turismo 4 name … the Nissan 350Z.
The Nissan 350Z Gran Turismo 4 represents the increasing close relationship between the motor industry and the most realistic driving game on the planet. Kazunori Yamauchi, Gran Turismo’s creator and director of the GT4 game, says: “The release of the Nissan 350Z Gran Turismo 4 is great in the way that the virtual has led to a real product. I am honoured that Nissan has named such an exciting car after my game and I look forward to racing it myself on both real and virtual tracks.”
According to
Yamauchi-san, some of the greatest cars featured in Gran Turismo have come from
the Nissan stable, not least the Skyline GT‑R.
The inclusion of Nissans in the game came about after the launch of the
original Gran Turismo when a test-driver from Nissan contacted Yamauchi-san and
invited him to come and drive a Skyline at Nissan’s track. In the following years, Yamauchi-san and
Nissan’s Skyline/350Z test-driver,
Gran Turizmo £29,500…3
Hiroyosi Kato became good mates. Kato-san even stars in one of Gran Turismo 4’s in-game movies. And Yamauchi-san has bought not one but two 350Zs because it has, he believes, the ideal layout: a powerful engine up front and rear-wheel drive.
The only time the 350Z Gran Turismo 4 will be shown in the UK before deliveries start in March is at Autosport International in what will be its European debut. As well as seeing the car on Nissan’s stand, visitors will get a preview of the game. And a chance to drive the car … in virtual reality, that is.
ends…
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Wayne Bruce Head of Press & PR 01923 899930
e-mail: wayne.bruce@nissan.co.uk
Terry Steeden Product Affairs Manager 01923 899938
e-mail: terry.steeden@nissan.co.uk
37071/120105