When the new Nissan Z (aka 400Z or 2023 Z) first hit the streets last year, there was quite a bit of talk about the infinite tuning possibilities for the JDM sports car. And while the 2022 SEMA showed the world how much American tuners love the RZ34, the recent Tokyo Auto Show gave Japanese aftermarket developers their opportunity to build on the Nissan. And the most eccentric kit of the show was definitely Pandem’s 400Z widebody.
Japanese developer Top Resin Art Kyoto, which many prefer to call TRA Kyoto, runs the Rocket Bunny label over in the Land of the Rising Sun. Nevertheless, these kits are offered in North America under the Panem brand, with everything under founder Kei Miura’s control.
With that out of the way, we’ll remind you we first discussed Pandem’s new Nissan Z in December last year. Back then, we only had a set of official renderings portraying the extrovert aero, but the Tokyo event has brought us no less than three Zs featuring the package.
Pandem’s widebody for the new Nissan Z packs a radical design
The beak, we just have to start with this—the polarizing styline of the Pandem 400Z kit’s nose does remind us of the one the developer offered for the Datsun 280ZX, as does that big, flat rear spoiler. Hey, if Nissan itself referenced multiple Z cars of the past for the 2023 model, why can’t tuners do it?
We’ll quickly go over the front splitter and the canards adorning the bumper, but not before mentioning the latter give the car a bit of a Gundam look, so the pop culture aura is strong with this one.
At the back, the ducktail spoiler is accompanied by a diffuser and we musn’t overlook the rear window spoiler, which is only one size more generous than the factory unit.
As is the case with Pandem’s explosive, three-kit Tokyo debut on the muscle car scene, the details and pricing for the 400Z kit will be announced later this year.
A Pandem Nissan Z (RZ34) in Formula D Japan for 2023
Now, as mentioned above, the Tokyo Auto Salon welcomed three 400Zs wearing Pandem’s aero armour. The gallery below kicks things off with the blue car, which is the one Tra Kyoto and Greedy, the US importer for Pandem kits, showcased on Instagram—we must thank the Japanese photographer known as Yama-channel for the images below.
Then there’s the black unit, which was displayed in the booth of Japanese suspension specialist Cusco. Even in such a shade, the intricate styling cues of the Pandem kit, which adorns a rather clean factory design, stand out with ease.
The all-colorful Z in the Rays Wheels booth? This seems to be a preview build for a 400Z running in the 2023 Formula Drift Japan. The announcement came from local tire manufacturer Goodride Japan, which happens to run a seasons Formula Drift team.
As stated in a recent Instagram post from the rubber specialist, the Goodride Nissan Z Formula Drift car will be run by Tetsuya Hibino—you may have seen him sliding the hell out of Liberty Walk’s four-rotor Nissan GT-R.
All this slip angle talk reminds us of how the American 2022 Formula Drift season involved the first-ever widebody kit for the 400Z, which was joined by a StreetHunter widebody for the street car a few months ago at SEMA.
The big picture at the Tokyo Auto Salon 2023
The basket of Z goodies for the 2023 Nissan Z was much larger, and you’ll find a complete Tokyo walkaround on this in the YouTube clip at the bottom of the story (lens tip to Brickhouse SPL).
As such, the showcased mods ranged from simple titanium wheel studs to a Nissan Z drag build featuring some wicked aluminum body work, among others, which comes from Japanese tuner Crewch (7:48 timestamp).
