Q418 - solved - Nissan Fairlady Z prototype

[Quiller]

For a score, open the door to the answer! What's the make and model designation of this car?

[Quiller]

Shunted upstairs

[faksta]

Nissan 350Z prototype?

[Djetset]

Likes slightly like an Ohno Naomi.  Don't suppose it is though for a moment!

[Quiller]

Faksta is quite close ...

[faksta]

I now know that it is a project that should have become a replacement for 300ZX, but instead 350Z was produced. The rear end reads Fairlady, if I'm not mistaken.

[Quiller]

That's close enough. It's a Fairlady Z prototype, as seen in the Nissan Museum

[Carnut]

What's this and from when does it date, for 1 point?:

ANYONE FOUND GIVING ANSWERS GLEANED BY USING GOOGLE SEARCH BY IMAGE MAY BE BANNED FOR AN INDETERMINATE PERIOD!

[Carnut]

Experts?

[dzima1985]

Ohno from Japan?

[Carnut]

Ohno from Japan?

Oh no, but it is from Japan..!

[dzima1985]

I accidentally found! (in Google Search - "Nissan concept 1990s")
1997' Nissan Mid Sport Concept - one of some prototypes of Nissan 350Z.
Interesting puzzle, Thanks. 

[Arunas]

Nissan Mid Sport Concept

 

[Carnut]

I accidentally found! (in Google Search - "Nissan concept 1990s")
1997' Nissan Mid Sport Concept - one of some prototypes of Nissan 350Z.
Interesting puzzle, Thanks. 

That is indeed what it is, although Arunas seems to be surprised by it!

Here's a bit about the story:

QUOTE
In the 1990s sports-car revival, the one that gave rise to the 1997 Nissan Mid Sport concept car, the emphasis was on emotional style, refined-but-attainable engineering and reasonable price.
The Japanese Bubble Economy mindset of the 1980s that had sired the high-tech, high-price Nissan 300ZX, Toyota Supra, Mazda RX-7 and Mitsubishi 3000GT had gone bust, and in North America, the volume market for sports and GT cars went along with it.
None of this was lost upon John Yukawa, Chief Product Specialist, Product Planning and Strategy at the Nissan Technical Center in Atsugi, Japan. He recalled, "The 1990-1996 300ZX was priced too high for the brand." So work began on exploring the possibility of a lower-cost, more-basic sports car.
In 1997, a front mid-ship concept, dubbed MS for "Mid Sport," was built. (In a front mid-ship design, the engine's center of gravity is positioned behind the front wheel centerline.)
The low-slung coupe was based on the platform of the Silvia (the former 240SX coupe in North America) and featured a highly tuned 2.4-liter dual-overhead-cam 4-cylinder pushed as far back as was feasible to achieve a near-perfect front/rear weight distribution. A prototype was brought to the U.S. for evaluation and driven at Nissan's Arizona Test Center.
The consensus? The MS was a fun-to-drive sports car that would be less expensive to build than the 300ZX. But was it a Z? The evaluators deemed the 4-cylinder MS to be unsuitable. Z cars had always been powered by 6-cylinder engines.
Yukawa and a small band of devotees, both in Japan and the U.S., continued to think about ways a new Z might one day enter Nissan's lineup. But in the mid- to late 1990s, economic conditions were not ripe to expend a significant amount of time, energy or funds working on a small-volume car, no matter how symbolic.
Nevertheless, the dream that a new Z might someday return as a symbol of Nissan's spirit remained very much alive.
UNQUOTE

[Arunas]

I am indeed! Never seen it before and found only one more pic if it on the net. It seems it was a proto of 350z never oficially presented.

[Carnut]

I am indeed! Never seen it before and found only one more pic if it on the net. It seems it was a proto of 350z never oficially presented.

It was the LHD that surprised me.
If dzima hadn't guessed an Ohno from Japan the Japanese element would not have been obvious and I think this puzzle would have taken much longer to solve...
Of course once it was known to be Japanese it was not going to take long..

[Allemano]

Alas it's a repost. Wrongly titled, though..
http://www.autopuzzles.com/forum/index.php?topic=7712.0

[Quiller]

Alas it's a repost. Wrongly titled, though..
http://www.autopuzzles.com/forum/index.php?topic=7712.0

The 350Z is called Fairlady Z in Japan, so I think the title stands

[Carnut]

Alas it's a repost. Wrongly titled, though..
http://www.autopuzzles.com/forum/index.php?topic=7712.0

The 350Z is called Fairlady Z in Japan, so I think the title stands

Actually I wasn't sure if Allemano meant I'd titled my bit wrongly!  Hence I was happy to leave your title untouched..

[Allemano]

I only meant in the case of two different titles one of these must be wrong.. 

I guess 'Mid Sport' isn't a valid name, isn't it?

[Carnut]

I only meant in the case of two different titles one of these must be wrong.. 

I guess 'Mid Sport' isn't a valid name, isn't it?

I'm not sure.  According to the blurb I posted it was "dubbed MS for 'Mid Sport'" but like all protytpes the truth is murky and lost in the mists of time.  I doubt the car had any badges at all and it's just what it would have been known as within the development department.

[Carnut]

What's this and from when does it date - for 1 point?:

Remember - solving puzzles using 'Google Search by Image' is BANNED on AutoPuzzles!

[gte4289]

1997 Nissan Mid Sport concept. Looks like this now:

[Carnut]

Quite so.
Well done.

[gte4289]

Alas it's a repost. Wrongly titled, though..
http://www.autopuzzles.com/forum/index.php?topic=7712.0

Merged.