While fresh names are rushing to develop body kits for the 2023 Nissan Z (aka 400Z in some enthusiast communities), established names are also working on the Japanese sports car. And few releases of the sort are more anticipated than Veilside’s 2023 Nissan Z widebody, which has been introduced as FFZ400 on the Japanese tuner’s social media.
The FFZ400, which presumably stands for “Fast and Furious 400Z” is still in development, with Veilside founder Yokomaku Hironao being determined to set the final shape of the kit in stone by November. As for the final deadline, the tuner will showcase the vehicle at the 2023 Tokyo Auto Salon (Fri, Jan 13, 2023 – Sun, Jan 15, 2023).
However, the company has already published a series of work-in-progress images on Instagram, so we can get a serious taste of the final development’s appearance. In addition, Hironao-san gave Japanese magazine Option a walkaround of the development car, which is highlited in the video belowโeven when relying on YouTube’s autotranslate feature, we could find notable details in the clip, such as the deadline mentioned above.
The retro-inspired styling of the 2023 Z, which is an ode to multiple of its forebearers, supports Veilside’s trypically-rounded styling cues, which is what we see here.
The nose of the Vailside 2023 Nissan Z has been elongated, but the kit still works with the production front grille. However, we find extra air intakes below the grille, with these having a functional role. Moving over to the hood, we come across a super-sized version of the factory center element.
The black bits you see here will be offered with a carbon finish, while the front overfenders will naturally be joined by rear units. In addition, the company founder also talks about offering custom wheels for the 400Z and fitting Veilside interior bits, such as the seats.
The 2023 Nissan Z’s Fast and Furious connection
Having started business back in 1990, Veilside was around to work on the 350Zโas some of you know, the 350Z, the 370Z and the 400Z essentially share their platform. And with its presence in multiple Fast and Furious moviesโZ villain cars includedโboosting Veilside’s reputation, Hironao-san calls the 2023 Z a “movie car” in the said video. He also gives actor Sung Kang, who plays Han in the franchise and has been confirmed to star in the upcoming Fast X installment of the franchise, an online preview of the FFZ400.
All in all, we have three elements hinting that the 2023 Nissan Z, with or without Veilside mods, will be present in Fast X, which will premier on May 19, 2023. For the record, none of the Fast X leaks we’ve seen to date included the new Z. However, filming for Fast X took place between April and August 2022, when the 400Z was already in production. Besides, it would surprise us if such a big name on the sports car scene was missing from the production.
Meanwhile, though, with the 2022 SEMA show set to open its doors tomorrow (November 1st) in Las Vegas, vlogger TJ Huntโs StreetHunter label has prepared multiple offerings for the JDM delight, widebody kit included.
Update (January 25, 2023): Now that Veilside has showcased its FFZ400 demo car at the Tokyo Auto Salon, we can bring you the full details.
Interestingly, the Veilside website mentions this “will be the 2024 released movie car which Mr. Sung Kang drives“. And while it would be awesome to imagine, say, a new, drifting-related Fast and Furious spinoff, we’re not sure what to make of the one year difference compared to the said May 19, 2023 premiere date for Fast X.
With that out of the way, we can focus on the vehicle itself. Veilside’s 400Z widebody sees the dimensions of the sports car being noticeably revised. Sure, we all expected some extra real estate on the sides. But this is achieved via bolt-on overfenders, so those rivets are only there for the show. Neat trick!
Regardless, as mentioned in the original article, the new front bumper expands the nose. And while the front grille has been kept in place, there are new intakes underneath it. Then there’s the longtail-style rear spoiler reminding one of drag builds, which is paired with a new diffuser.
The list of updates also includes air curtains for the front bumper, front fender vents, and side skirt extensions linking into the rear quarter panels, all of which come in black. The same hue is used for the hood accent, while the wavy texture on the upper exterior trim is a nod to a katana blade’s hamon, an effect of the Japanese sword’s hardening process.
The interior and tech upgrades
As for the cabin, thanks to a photo coming from Sung Kang, we can see a pair of Bride seats featuring Veilside branding, along with plenty of suede-finished surfaces, steering wheel horn button included.
On the tech front, there’s Air Force Suspension hardware, mixed with the same Veilside Andrew Forged wheels found on the Mazda RX-7 that Sun Kang’s character Han drove in Fast and Furious Tokyo Drift, the third installment of the franchise. The rolling goodies are now here in a 20-inch size.
Note that the RX-7 movie car was an inspiration for the 2023 Nissan Z build and you can even see them together with the Drift King’s 350Z (also a Veilside affair) in one of the images below.
We’ve also added a Larry Chen-delivered YouTube video below (the first clip), which offers a walkaround of the Veilside FFZ400. Keep in mind that while this is the build we’ll see in Fast and Furious, Veilside is offering the widebody kit for $14,000.
