The 2022 Nissan 400Z Will Debut August 17. Here's Everything You Need to Know

After making the Z Proto concept a staple of those Brie Larson commercials for months now, Nissan has confirmed when and where we'll all meet the production version: August 17th, 2021, in New York City.

The biggest question mark around the new 400Z (or, as it may be called, just Nissan Z) is when exactly buyers will be able to place their orders and take one home. Nissan previously indicated plans to reveal the new car in the spring of 2021, but with the current microchip shortage causing problems across the automotive industry, it's possible that production has been delayed. A recent report from the newnissanZ.com forum claims that, according to an anonymous source inside Nissan, the order books for the new Nissan Z won't open until November 15th. (Here's hoping they're wrong.)

A poster from the 400zclub.com forum who claims to have inside info about Nissan's new sports car suggests it could be delightfully affordable. According to the anonymous source, the 400z will start at $34,995, giving it more bang-for-the-buck than the Toyota Supra.

We assumed the production version of Nissan's new sports car would look an awful lot like the Z Proto concept, and based on these leaked images that purportedly show a production car, it looks like we were right.

Last September, Nissan unveiled the Z Proto concept seen here. As concepts go, this one was far closer to production-ready than, say, the wearable GT-R.

An Australian patent application from Nissan from January showed a car that looked much similar to the concept. With a sleek, modern design and nods to Z cars of yore, the new 400Z should satisfy all interested parties.

Many car racing games aim to be as realistic as possible — so a recent leak from Project Cars 3 detailing the Nissan 400z's apparent specs gives us reason to be excited. The video game listed the sports car as packing 444 horsepower and a curb weight of 3,252 pounds — thus making it lighter and more powerful than the Toyota Supra.

Nissan said the Z Proto used a twin-turbo V6. That likely means it's getting the twin-turbo V6 from the Infiniti Q60 coupe. That car has a 300-hp base model and a tuned-up 400-hp Red Sport model; as the new Supra shows, both power levels would suit the new Z car.

Nissan showed the Z Proto with a six-speed manual, with an automatic option "under development." It would make sense for the Q60's seven-speed automatic to be the other option.

How old is the Nissan 370Z? It's one of the few new cars you can still buy that doesn't offer an infotainment screen. The Z Proto has one — and we would strongly bet one ends up in the production car. We also expect it to be compatible with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.

We don't know how the new 400Z will drive yet. But on paper, it could be a problem for Toyota's halo sports car.

How much is the 400Z going to cost? Well, the rumored starting price is around $40,000 — about the same as the four-cylinder Supra. If Nissan does take the 300-and-400-hp route, the new Z will have more power at both levels than the Toyota — and, unlike the Supra, it'll pack a manual transmission.