To Hell With The 911 Dakar, Nissan Built A Rally Z

Photo: Nissan

All the sports car top dogs are being made into rally cars. Lamborghini has the Huracan Sterrato, Porsche has the 911 Dakar — all the cool kids are doing it. So why shouldn’t Nissan, with its rally heritage and shiny new sports car, do the same?

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The company tried this last year, incomprehensibly using a Juke as the base car rather than a Z, but now that wrong has finally been righted. The SEMA special Safari Rally Z Tribute is here, and I would like to purchase one right now immediately.

Photo: Nissan

The modern rally Z is lifted two inches on KW suspension, making room for NISMO Safari wheels and dirt-ready tires. It’s got front bumper protection, a skid plate, rally lights, a roll bar, and the seats have been swapped out for harness-capable Recaros.

Mechanically, the Z seems largely stock, though it’s got the standard bolt-ons-and-a-tune treatment familiar to anyone who’s received a signing bonus in their life. A NISMO catback here, a cold air intake there, a fancy clutch and new maps from AMS — it may not sound like much, but there’s only so much power you can put into dirt.

Photo: Nissan

What intrigues me most about this Z concept, though, is the name of the wheels: “Prototype NISMO Safari.” If NISMO is prototyping safari wheels, it sounds like Nissan may at least have some interest in producing safari wheels? If that’s within the realm of consideration, why not make factory-stock safari Zs? If Lamborghini and Porsche can do it, why not Nissan?

Please, Nissan, build these cars as stock. Make a factory offroad package for the Z, with all the NISMO goodies and warranty backing that only you can offer. The market is there, the style is gorgeous. I’ll take mine in that classic Datsun orange.