Nissan 350Z

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The Nissan 350Z (known as Nissan Fairlady Z (Z33) in Japan) is a two-door, two-seater sports car that was manufactured by Nissan Motor Corporation from 2002 until 2009 and marks the fifth generation of Nissan's Z-car line. The 350Z entered production in 2002 and was sold and marketed as a 2003 model from August 2002. The first year there was only a coupe, as the roadster did not debut until the following year. Initially, the coupe came in Base, Enthusiast, Performance, Touring and Track versions, while the Roadster was limited to Enthusiast and Touring trim levels. The Track trim came with lightweight wheels and Brembo brakes, but its suspension tuning was the same as all other coupes. The Nissan 350Z was succeeded by the 370Z for the 2009 model year.

Nissan 350Z (Z33)
Overview
Manufacturer
Nissan
Also called
Nissan Fairlady Z
Production
July 2002 – 2009 (Coupe)
2003–2009 (Roadster)
Assembly
Japan: Oppama (2002–2003)
Japan: Kaminokawa, Tochigi (2003–2009)
Designer
Diane Allen (2000)
Body and chassis
Class
Sports car (S)
Body style
2-door fastback coupé
2-door roadster
Layout
Front mid-engine, rear-wheel drive
Platform
Nissan FM platform
Related
Infiniti G35
Nissan Skyline (V35)
Powertrain
Engine
3.5 L VQ35DE V6 (2003 & 2004)
3.5 L VQ35DE V6 (2005 (35th Anv & Track) & 2006)
3.5 L VQ35HR V6 (2007–2009)
Transmission
6-speed FS6R31A manual
5-speed RE5R05A automatic







Model Description

The Body

This is a 1:18 scale die-cast with some plastic parts. This is a well thought out model. The body with its mid-blue paintwork is well constructed and fitted together. The body has no paint defects and no bubbling of any paintwork. Panels include the 2 doors, rear hatch door and the bonnet. All open reasonably well and when closed show no big gaps anywhere. Both doors show the interesting door handles and are inserts rather than simply painted on. Both front and rear lights have been fitted so there are no gaps or raised areas to spoil the effects. Also there are two small badges marked with the “Z” raised so to give them a more realistic look. All decals are placed correctly and aligned as on the actual vehicle.The wheels with their black mag wheels really set them off, with the front wheels can be turned using the steering wheel.

The Interior

This is well designed and gives a realistic look in this vehicle's interior. Door panels have details clearly visible with the door handle raised and realistic. The seat belts are visible with the two inserts with no sign of the rest of the belts. The centre console shows switches, the handbrake and the gear shift and this continues up to the main dashboard. It shows clearly all the switches that control the information screen and buttons possibly for the lights.The rest of the dashboard shows a small set of instruments, while the main instrument panel is a separate part rather than inserted into the main console. This makes a good look and you can see that they have added very small decals to give each instrument that extra realistic look. Overall, this interior has been well thought out and displays well.

The Engine

This engine is very much what you see for this type of model. However they have made it a better engine by highlighting parts of the engine that gives a better look at the parts one would see if one was looking at the real one. The use of the decals also makes this engine more realistic.

The Hatch back

With the hatch section opened, one gets a good look into the interior. About two-thirds down, there is a bar that is fitted. This seems it is for looks rather than it serves any use. However when one looks more at it, It very well may be a rollover bar. Apart from this, there is nothing else in the boot area, not even the spare tire if it even has one. So suitable for grocery shopping or even a small suitcase, more of a sports car that is supposed to be.

The Conclusion

Over all. This is a good example of a model that still is a bit light on detail. The engine could be more detailed, and the interior could use some tweeting to give it that more spark in its detail. Still it's collectable and does display well so it's a model fit to own. I give it a 4.5/5.0. Robin Finlay 26/02/2023.