Given how multiple calendars continue to coexist, here at carvibz we’ve decided to call 2023 the year of the Z. Why? It’s not even February yet, and the new Nissan Z (aka 400Z or 2023 Z) has already received the kind of aftermarket attention this JDM hero was born for.
Truth be told, the first all-out widebody for the 2023 Nissan Z came out last November, being delivered by Street Hunter at SEMA. Fast-forwarding to this month, the Tokyo Auto Salon 2023 saw the Japanese sports car being gifted with equally extravagant widebodies thanks to Tra Kyoto (Pandem) and Veilside.
And now there’s the proposal parked on our screens, coming from Khyzyl Saleem (aka The_Kyza). Yes, the London-based digital artist created a rendering, but he doesn’t have to ask anybody to build the thing. Since he’s established the Live to Offend label a few years ago, he can do that himself further down the road (more or this below).
This kit was rendered with the real world in mind
This is not The Kyza’s first 400Z widebody—please see the memorable G-Nose 400Z he did almost a year ago. However, with this “V1 KYZA EDTN Z widebody idea”, the pixel master has cooked up a kit that can be brought to life.
For starters, this widebody take on the new Nissan Z sticks with you. And once you zoom in on the thing, you’ll notice the eclectic mix the artist embedded into the aero proposal.
Among the many great production and concept cars that have inspired this creation we find the BMW 3.0 CSL Hommage—like many of us, Khyzyl appears to feel that the 2015 concept car one-ups the otherwise impressive $780,000 limited-production 2023 3.0 CSL released last year.
A digital R35 GT-R engine swap for this Z
Up front, we have nouvelle vague fog lights and a transparent panel adorning the hood. Yes, the latter was neccesary, especially since the twin-turbo 3.8L V6 heart of the forever-young Nissan GT-R lies underneath. You may snicker, but keep in mind that the first-ever widebody 400Z, a Street Hunter kit released for the 2022 Formula Drift season, saw Chris Forsberg manhandling a Z with such an engine swap.
Yes, the Infiniti-borrowed 3.0L twin-turbo V6 animating the 2023 Nissan Z is a capable unit. After all, AMS Performance pushed it to 719 WHP last year, thus taking the new Z into the 9s quarter-mile arena. Nevertheless, the GT-R’s engine is on another level. This would allow the 400Z to deliver streetable power up to 1,000 hp, or go all the way past 3,000 hp for racing applications.
And if you check out the posterior of The Kyza’s Z widebody, the thing looks like it’s already making that kind of crazy power! I’m not so sure about diluting the Nissan 300ZX posterior throwback by relocating the rear license plate between the taillights, but this makes room for the kind of diffuser that could help tame all that internal combustion fury.
Woking with Air Lift Performance and Rotiform, Kyza fitted the former’s air suspension and the latter’s new LSR-M wheels to the JDM coupe. The McLaren brakes? Those are just here for the fun of it.
Oh, and if you feel the new Nissan Z now looks a bit like its Mk V Supra archnemesis, you’re not the only one—the artist mentions it in the description of the Instagram post below.
The Z is dressed in Nissan’s legendary Midnight Purple, but I’m only mentioning this now because this widebody simply doesn’t rely on a color—no matter how great—to stand out.
So far, The Kyza’s LTO label has produced widebodies for the E30 and E36 BMWs, as well as for the FD-generation Mazda RX-7 (remember the Pagani V12-engined demo car at SEMA 2022?). Could the 2023 Nissan Z be next in line? I’d love to go into further detail, but it’s difficult to write with your fingers crossed.
