For the past half year or so, when it comes to Nissan's performance cars all the talk has been about the R35 GT-R. About a year ago, however, Nismo introduced a car that I still feel has not got the attention it deserves. The car is the Nismo Fairlady Z 380RS and it is quite simply one of the most impressive Z's ever built. While other markets also got a version of the Nismo Z, the Japan market 380RS offers a tuned VQ-based 3.8L engine that makes a very potent 350ps naturally aspirated. It also happens to to be what is in my opinion one of the best looking factory Z's ever. I'm usually not a fan of the "black on black" look, but I think the 380RS in the photo I shot above looks fantastic.
For some reason I have been noticing a lot of nice Z33's on the streets here recently and I have been drooling over them quite a bit. As the Z33 nears the end of its run, Nissan has really shown the potential of the chassis. I guess time will tell how the Z33 will stand up to the upcoming all new Z.
-Mike Garrett