The new Nissan Z is hot. It makes a claimed 400 horsepower, takes design cues from many of the best Zs throughout history, and is eventually (when everybody calms the hell down) going to be sold for a reasonable, attainable price.
But, here’s the thing. I wonder just how hot the Z actually is? I mean, Nissan claims it’s got a top speed of 155 miles per hour (which is boring, and every European car manufacturer limited their cars to that speed in the 90s and aughts), but what if it was just saying that?
The fine folks at legendary Japanese tuning house GReddy were curious about that too, so they took a brand new Z and ran it (almost) stock around a high-speed ring to find out how fast it’d actually go. I say almost stock because, GReddy being GReddy, it tossed a spicier muffler on the car, but that shouldn’t have a meaningful effect on the car’s top speed.
The results are seriously impressive. How impressive? Try 300 kph or around 186 mph. For context, a base 911 Carrera claims a top speed of 182 mph, and that’s a six-figure sports car.
Later, the GReddy crew added a tune to the car, etc., but the top speed didn’t appear to be affected, despite adding approximately 73 horsepower. It just made that 186 mph easier and quicker to hit.
Now, it goes without saying, but you shouldn’t try V-maxing your Z because you’re going to end up killing yourself and probably some other people. Just leave it to the pros.