With the Nissan 400Z—yes, it’s officially called the 2023 Nissan Z—now moving into its second year of production, the competition in the aftermarket segement is getting mighty serious. The latest 400Z widebody kit comes from Pandem and, if it’s not obvious by now, this is a wild one.
Led by Kei Miura, Japanese tuner TRA Kyoto (that’s Top Resin Art Kyoto) offers its easy-to-spot kits under the Rocket Bunny label over in the Land of the Rising Sun. However, these are sold as Pandem goodies in the US. So now you know why this aero package, just like the JDM sports car itself, can be found under two different names.
The squared arches are the dominant feature of the Pandem 400Z body kit
The (more or less) squared wheel arches, which have become a bit of a signature move for the company, easily allow the Pandem 400Z to turn heads. In case you’re wondering where you’ve seen such arches before, the list includes the C8 Corvette, as well as the Toyota GR86 and GR Yaris.
We’ll call this front bumper design a beak, and we have to admit it ties those arches in terms of the extrovert appearance. And since the 2023 Z pays homage to its predecessors, Pandem’s kit slightly resembles the one it makes for the Datsun 280ZX in terms of the front bumper and rear spoiler. However, the nose work is completed by a splitter and a pair of canards.
Moving to the other end of the RWD Nissan, we find a roof spoiler that’s slightly more aggressive than the factory unit. There’s also a generously-sized duktail spoiler and a diffuser. Of course, the new stance of the car is accentuated by air suspension, while the interior is adorned with a roll cage.
The Pandem Nissan 400Z widebody kit, which should cost around $5,000 based on previous offerings, has yet to be added to the developer’s website—you can expect this to debut at the 2023 Tokyo Auto Salon (January 13-15). Meanwhile, the aftermarket specialist has released these renderings, which give us a complete take on the matter.
Oh, and who knows? Perhaps those Hot Wheel decals on the side of the digital show car mean something. By the way, have you seen the Hot Wheels Legends Tour 2022 winners (real builds that become HW models)?
What about some other 400Z body kits?
As mentioned in the intro, the competition for Pandem’s 2023 Nissan Z widebody is fierce. And if we are to think of two such aero packages that stand out, we’ll give you one from Japan and another from America.
The first is Veilside’s 400Z widebody, which is dubbed FFZ400 for “Fast and Furious 400Z”. With its dramatic front end transformation, this will also bow in Tokyo next month.
As for the American way of adding some real estate to the new Z, this landed last month at the SEMA show. We’re refering to the StreetHunter 400Z widebody, whose replacement fenders were a pleasant surprise.
Of course, Nissan has its own thing prepared for next year, with the 2024 400Z Nismo set to debut in the summer. Finally, the Supra will see some Z taillights, at least until the Toyota gets that rumored GRMN version with the M3 engine…
Update (January 18, 2023): The Tokyo Auto Salon displayed no less than three Nissan 400Zs gifted with Pandem’s widebody, one of which is linked to Formula Drift Japan!
