Where do you go if you want a Rear-wheel drive, 2 seater sports car? You’ve got a plethora of options. Chevy, Ferrari, Alfa-Romeo, Fiat, Mazda, Porsche, Nissan, BMW, and Jaguar to name a few. Now let’s say you want to have your car in a manual. Now eliminate the Ferrari and Alfa Romeo. I suppose you’ve got your car in manual, you now want at least 305 horsepower. This means get rid of the Mazda, and the Fiat. This leaves the Chevy, the Porsche, the Nissan, and the Jaguar. If you want to spend under $50,000 that leaves you with one car, the Nissan. The Nissan 370z exist in a very unique space in the auto industry.

For 2018 the Z car lineage (Fairlady Z in other markets the 370z is on the Z34 platform) will be back for a 9th model year. Nissan is using this to its advantage and adding a special “Heritage edition”. What exactly does this entail?

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (April 5, 2017) – The calendar says 2017, but Nissan is offering a special early preview of the 2018 370Z Coupe Heritage Edition at next week’s New York International Auto Show. The Heritage Edition honors the iconic Nissan sports car as it approaches its 50th anniversary at the end of the decade since its launch under the Datsun brand.

“Available on the base 370Z Coupe, the best-selling and most affordable trim level, the Heritage Edition package is offered in two exterior colors. The Chicane Yellow Heritage Edition features black outside mirrors, gloss black graphics and yellow interior trim. The Magnetic Black Heritage Edition includes gloss silver graphics and yellow interior trim.”

The yellow Heritage Edition Z seems almost like a homage to the 77 280z ZAP! package

That’s it. The Heritage edition boils down to some graphics and interior bits. Not a special paint job, not a special exhaust, no special suspension, just 2 colors that are normally available, with some added graphics and bonus interior bits. Not even a power bump to the 350hp the Nismo 370z puts out.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (April 5, 2017) – The calendar says 2017, but Nissan is offering a special early preview of the 2018 370Z Coupe Heritage Edition at next week’s New York International Auto Show. The Heritage Edition honors the iconic Nissan sports car as it approaches its 50th anniversary at the end of the decade since its launch under the Datsun brand.

On the bonus side, the press release did give information on what the 2018 model year holds for the 370z stating, “The Heritage Edition also incorporates enhancements to the 370Z Coupe for the 2018 model year, including new headlight and rear combination light treatment, new rear fascia paint scheme, smoke chrome door handles and new EXEDY® high-performance clutch (manual transmission). The 2018 370Z Coupe goes on sale in spring 2017.”
While all of that seems great, it’s just more dressing on the same salad. Like I previously said the 370z exist in a weird spot. I am a huge 370z fan and supporter, but you have to ask, is this enough?

Nissan 370Z Heritage Edition 2018

Part of the frustration with the heritage edition comes from 2 places. 1 being, most people feel any Z news should be Z35 related news. The other side comes from the fact that this isn’t that special of an edition. The 40th anniversary edition from 2010 had a special edition paint job, a custom red leather and alcantara interior with embossed seats, and was limited numbered. This on the other hand is just a few decals. We’ve seen that Nissan can do limited well.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (April 5, 2017) – The calendar says 2017, but Nissan is offering a special early preview of the 2018 370Z Coupe Heritage Edition at next week’s New York International Auto Show. The Heritage Edition honors the iconic Nissan sports car as it approaches its 50th anniversary at the end of the decade since its launch under the Datsun brand.

The good news behind all of this is that the 370z is still a very handsome car. It has great looks that still, to this day, rival cars that cost 10-20 thousand dollars more. It’s a performance bargain on the used market, and even new it can scratch a certain itch others can’t. If the Heritage edition seems like the car for you you’re in luck! You can see the Z at the New York International Auto Show April 14-27 at the Nissan booth.