Just days after word came that Nissan is working on a small coupe(http://http://news.windingroad.com/concept-cars/urge-overkill-nissan-planning-affordable-sports-car/), a mysterious prototype has been spotted in and around the automaker’s facilities at the Nürburgring in Germany.
While the body of the prototype above screams 350Z, look closely, and substantial alterations seem to support the notion that this is not a next-generation Zed car, but rather a new, smaller model, potentially with some cues lifted from its Urge concept of a couple years back.
Check out the awkward roofline, which looks like it has been chopped to accommodate a clipped wheelbase. Our spies at KGP report that there are riveted sections in the mule’s roof, which lend a degree of credence to this assertion. Click on the high-resolution gallery, and it looks as if the doors may have had some work done to them as well (note the vertical tape lines).
Given that engineers appear to be using a Porsche Cayman as a comparison benchmark, it’s either the case that this remains a new, smaller 350Z (the two models are Nissan’s closest natural competitors), or that the company is setting a seriously high bar for its budget performance car. We can only hope that their choice of a Boxster companion will mean that the new car will be rear-drive as well.
