Nissan launches the 370Z sports car in India!

It's been one of the most revered names in sports car line ups for decades now. Over the 6 generations that the Z name has survived, Nissan has offered enthusiasts a powerful and fun to drive, yet practical machine the World over. Models that spanned legends like the 240Z, 300ZX and the 350Z 'Fairlady' have found their way into hearts of millions of owners around the globe and have won numerous awards in addition to being preferred tools of choice for a wide variety of motorsports. The latest in that family is the 370Z - a car that has already won 9 awards since it was launched early in 2009 - around the same time that ZigWheels drove it in Japan (check related links for drive story).

The Nissan 370Z has finally made it to Indian shores and will be available in a choice of 8 body colours with two gearbox options. The front-mid mounted engine is in itself a marvel of technology packing 3.7 litres in its V6 layout. The aluminum-alloy unit puts out 332 horses at 7000rpm and is coupled to either a 7-speed auto 'box or a 6-speed manual gearbox. While the 7-speed automatic with paddle shifters and downshift SynchroRev sounds like the preferred option that will rake in sales in the country, the 6-speed manual with SynchroRev is the more fun unit.

The Nissan 370Z with the automatic gearbox will be available for a price of Rs 54.5 lakh and the 6-speed manual slightly cheaper at Rs 53.5 lakh ex-showroom, Delhi. Nissan expects to sell around 2-4 cars per month initially, but given the car's extremely practical pedigree, those figures seem pretty modest indeed. Look out for a complete drive story and road test on ZigWheels soon .