Nissan 350Z (Z33)
Fifth generation
In 1999 the French company Renault bought 44.4% of Nissan and Carlos Ghosn became its chief operating officer. But it would not be until 2001 when Carlos Ghosn became CEO that he would tell reporters: “We will build the Z. And we will make it profitable.”
On January 8, 2001, Nissan introduced the Z Concept. Much like the previous Z concept, it debuted at the North American International Auto Show and was painted a bright orange. The squat, long-hood/short-deck styling resulted from a competition between Nissan’s Japanese, European, and American design studios, with the La Jolla, California studio’s design being chosen in March 2000.