The Nissan Z: 350Z, 370Z and the Fairlady Returns

Introduction: The Z Returns

When the 300ZX left the US market in 1996, Nissan’s sports car story went quiet. The 350Z ended that silence in 2002 – a 2003 model built on a simple brief: front-mid-engine V6, rear drive, two seats, and a price around $26,000 that undercut everything with comparable pace. The Z badge reached back to the 1970 240Z, and the revival treated that lineage as a promise about value rather than nostalgia.

Two chassis carried the modern era. The Z33 350Z ran 2003–2009 and embedded itself in tuner culture – drift builds, VQ engine swaps, and a starring role as DK’s car in The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift. The Z34 370Z followed for 2009 with a shorter wheelbase, aluminum body panels, and a twelve-model-year run so long that the car became the last analog holdout in its class. Nissan’s flagship GT-R R35 took the headlines; the Z took the volume. A third modern chapter – the RZ34 everyone expected to be called 400Z – carries the badge today.

Scopione’s carbon fiber coverage centers on the Z33 – six engine bay and exterior parts for the 350Z – while the 370Z is covered here for its history and market position. Both cars remain the affordable entry into the Japanese sports car appreciation story now playing out one tier above them.

Nissan 350Z (Z33, 2003–2009)

The 350Z launched on Nissan’s FM (front midship) platform, shared with the Infiniti G35 – the V6 set back behind the front axle line for near-even weight distribution. Coupe first, roadster from 2004, and a trim ladder (Base, Enthusiast, Performance, Touring, Track) that put Brembo brakes and lightweight wheels on the top rung.

The VQ Engine Story

• VQ35DE (2003–2006) – 287 hp from the award-winning 3.5L V6; the “Rev-up” revision lifted select 2005 and all 2006 manual cars to 300 hp with a higher redline. Automatics kept 287 hp.
• VQ35HR (2007–2009) – A heavily revised “high revolution” engine: new block, dual-path intake, 306 hp, and a 7,500 rpm ceiling. The engine bay changed visibly – which is why Scopione’s replacement engine cover fits 2003–2006 cars only.

The Z33 chapter closed with its best car. The 2007–2008 Nismo 350Z brought the first factory Nismo Z to America: 306 hp, Autech seam-welded chassis reinforcement, functional aero, RAYS forged wheels, and a specific exhaust note that made the case on its own. Roughly 1,600 were built across two years, and it is the Z33 collectors chase.

Most Z33s lived hard lives – drift events, engine swaps, street builds. That history now defines the market: unmodified survivors are scarce, and the same Tokyo Drift exposure that put the 350Z in every 2006 bedroom poster keeps demand alive the way the franchise did for the Toyota Supra, at a fraction of the price.

Nissan 370Z (Z34, 2009–2020)

The 370Z tightened everything. The wheelbase shrank four inches, the doors, hood, and hatch went aluminum, and the new VQ37VHR – 3.7 liters, variable valve lift, 7,500 rpm redline – delivered 332 hp. Its headline innovation lived in the transmission tunnel: SynchroRev Match, the world’s first synchronized rev-matching manual in a production car, blipping perfect downshifts a decade before rivals offered anything comparable.

Then the car simply stayed. Twelve model years with only detail changes – a 2015 Nismo refresh, a roadster that ran through 2019, and a base price that rose exactly $160 in eleven years: $29,930 in 2009, $30,090 in 2020. What read as neglect became identity: by 2020 the 370Z was the cheapest way to buy a naturally aspirated, hydraulic-steering, manual-gearbox sports car, and reviewers who had dismissed it began writing farewells instead.

• 370Z Nismo (2009–2020) – 350 hp, Nismo aero and chassis tuning, RAYS wheels; the 2015 refresh brought new bodywork and Recaro seats.
• 50th Anniversary Edition (2020) – A BRE-racing-livery tribute in the Z’s final year, honoring the 240Z’s 1970s racing colors in white/red or silver/black.

The Z34 handed off to the current Z in 2023 – the car covered next – and that continuity keeps the 370Z aftermarket active, framing the Z34 as the last of the analog Zs rather than a dead end.

Nissan Z / 400Z (RZ34, 2023–Present): The New Fairlady

The internet named this car before Nissan did. When the Z Proto appeared in September 2020 with a 400 hp twin-turbo V6, the enthusiast world settled on “400Z” – following the 240Z-through-370Z naming logic – and the label stuck so hard that people still search for it. Nissan chose otherwise: the production car, revealed in 2021 and on sale for the 2023 model year, is simply the Nissan Z. In Japan it keeps the name the lineage started with – Fairlady Z.

Under the retro skin – a nose drawn from the Japan-only 240ZG, taillights from the Z32 300ZX – the RZ34 is an honest evolution of the Z34. The wheelbase carries over, and the VR30DDTT 3.0L twin-turbo V6 delivers the 400 hp and 350 lb-ft that inspired the phantom name. Critically, the 6-speed manual survived, joined by a new 9-speed automatic; the launch-year Proto Spec edition (240 units) nodded to the concept, and the 2024 Nismo raised output to 420 hp – automatic-only at launch, to purist grumbling, until a manual arrived for 2026.

For Z33 and Z34 owners, the new car’s arrival matters in two ways: it keeps the Z community – and its parts ecosystem – alive and growing, and it quietly re-anchors the older cars as the affordable analog entries to a living lineage rather than orphans of a dead one. Scopione’s catalog does not yet include RZ34 fitments; the Z coverage remains Z33-focused for now.

Carbon Fiber and the Z

Nissan kept factory carbon fiber away from the Z until the very end – the current RZ34’s available CF pieces arrived long after the aftermarket had made composites a Z-culture staple. On this platform, carbon has always been an owner decision. The Z33 and Z34 relied on conventional steel and aluminum construction, with weight discipline coming from packaging rather than exotic materials.

The aftermarket moved in early. Drift and time attack builds put carbon-fiber hoods, trunks, and aero on Z33s from the platform’s first years, and the VQ engine bay – broad, symmetrical, and constantly photographed at meets – became a natural canvas for CF dress-up. Engine covers, cooling plates, and reservoir covers replace scratched factory plastic with a material that reads as deliberate. On a platform where the bulk of surviving cars are modified anyway, tasteful carbon-fiber trim is the difference between a build and a beater.

Scopione’s Z line works that engine-bay-and-trim territory for the Z33: hand-laid 2×2 3K twill-weave CF with a UV-resistant clear coat, in direct replacement and add-on forms. The pieces target the presentation zones – the bay, the mirrors, the bumper intakes – where the twill weave is visible and the factory plastic ages worst.

Scopione: Carbon Fiber Parts for the Z

Scopione’s Z-car catalog contains 6 carbon fiber products, all engineered for the 350Z (Z33). All six are hand-laid in 2×2 3K twill-weave carbon fiber with UV-resistant clear coat, and Scopione’s 12-month limited warranty against delamination covers each one. The Z parts share the Scopione Nissan shop page with the extensive GT-R R35 line.

What Scopione Offers for the 350Z

Browse Carbon Fiber Parts for the Nissan 350Z

Fitment Notes – Including the 370Z Question

• The engine cover is VQ35DE-specific – it fits 2003–2006 cars only. The 2007–2009 VQ35HR redesigned the engine bay, and the cover does not transfer.
• Everything else spans the full Z33 run (2003–2009), including both coupe and roadster bodies.
• The bumper vents fit OEM front bumpers – aftermarket bumper conversions should verify shapes before ordering.
• No 370Z or current-Z (RZ34) parts exist in the catalog. Both are covered on this page for history and market relevance, but Scopione’s Z-car carbon fiber line is 350Z-only at this time. New fitments are added over time – the Nissan catalog page reflects current availability.
• Primed paintable headlight eyelids (2003–2009, plastic) are also available for owners matching body color.

Z Market Pricing & Carbon Fiber Investment

The Z market is the accessible end of the JDM appreciation curve. Driver-grade cars remain cheap; the collector sorting is happening at the top – Nismo variants, Track trims, unmodified survivors – while everything below stays attainable. CF engine bay parts serve exactly the cars being preserved rather than consumed.

Recent results sketch the ceiling: low-mile Nismo 350Zs have brought $25,000–$35,000 at auction with the best recent sales near $50,000, and clean 2020 50th Anniversary 370Zs trade in the $30,000–$40,000 band – delivery-mileage cars have passed $44,000. For bracket context, that money also buys a used Camaro SS – the cross-shopping that defined both cars when new still holds on the used market.

Pricing Factors That Affect Z Values

• Modification and drift history – The Z33 was a default drift platform; accident-free, unmodified cars are the scarce configuration and price accordingly.
• Nismo status – Factory Nismo cars of both generations carry genuine chassis differences and lead their respective markets.
• Manual transmission – 6-speed cars outprice automatics across both generations.
• Body style – Coupes outprice roadsters; the coupe is the collector body.
• Final-year interest – 2020 50th Anniversary cars and late-production Z34s carry end-of-generation appeal now that the analog Z catalog is closed.

Ownership Costs

The VQ V6s use timing chains – no belt service – and hold up well under maintenance. The known items: oil consumption on high-mileage VQ35DEs (worst on the 2005–2006 Rev-up engines, which drew a Nissan TSB), window regulator and fuel-sender failures on Z33s, clutch slave cylinder failures on manual cars of both generations (the part lives inside the bellhousing, so labor dominates the bill), and the 370Z’s steering lock module – a documented no-start failure with a well-established bypass fix. Track-driven 370Zs need an aftermarket oil cooler; the ECU pulls power above roughly 280°F oil temperature, and that limp mode is the platform’s one real circuit weakness. RepairPal puts annual averages at $452 (350Z) and $504 (370Z) – both below the all-vehicle average – with real-world budgets closer to $1,000 once performance tires and brakes enter the rotation. These are among the cheapest genuine sports cars to keep.

Frequently Asked Questions

What carbon fiber parts does Scopione offer for the Nissan 350Z?

Scopione carries 6 carbon fiber parts for the 350Z (2003–2009): a replacement engine cover ($210, 2003–2006 VQ35DE only), battery and fluid covers ($230), a radiator cooling plate ($210), mirror caps ($210), and front bumper intake vents in single ($90) or pair ($190) configurations. All use hand-laid 2×2 3K twill-weave CF. Browse them on the Scopione Nissan page.

Does Scopione offer carbon fiber parts for the 370Z or the new Z (400Z)?

Not currently. The Z-car line covers the Z33 350Z; no 370Z or RZ34-specific parts exist in the catalog at this time – and note the new car is officially the Nissan Z, though the 400Z name from its rumor era never quite died. The Nissan page’s other resident is the GT-R R35, which carries one of Scopione’s deepest carbon fiber lines – and the catalog page is the live source for what is currently offered.

Is the Nissan 350Z or 370Z a good investment?

The tops of both markets are moving: Nismo 350Zs trade at $20,000–$35,000, 370Z Nismos at $22,000–$38,000, and clean unmodified standard cars are separating from the modified majority. Neither has approached the six-figure territory of the A80 Supra or 22B STI – and that accessibility is the point. A clean Z bought today is a usable sports car with a floor under it, not a speculation.

What are common 350Z and 370Z maintenance issues and costs?

The VQ engines use timing chains and are fundamentally robust – the family earned repeated Ward’s 10 Best Engines honors. Watch for oil consumption on high-mileage VQ35DEs (especially 2005–2006 Rev-up engines), clutch slave cylinder failures on manuals of both generations, Z33 window regulators and fuel senders, and the 370Z’s steering lock module no-start issue. Track use demands an oil cooler on the 370Z. RepairPal averages run $452 (350Z) and $504 (370Z) annually, with tire-and-brake years costing more – deep VQ parts availability keeps the Z among the cheapest sports cars to own.

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• Dodge: Viper

Experience the elegance and performance of the Nissan Z with Scopione. Browse our gallery and get inspired to elevate your supercar with our top-of-the-line carbon fiber upgrades.

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