Nissan has gotten Z fans excited when they revealed the Z Proto, the next-generation Fairlady from the Japanese manufacturer. It pays tribute to the original 240Z sports car with retro styling, and a lot of its design cues will make their way to the production 400Z.

Despite the 400Z coming out as a new model, it will still share its platform with the aging 370Z. While that may seem odd for others in slapping a new body into an old chassis, car enthusiasts would somewhat breathe a sigh of relief, as the outgoing model has gained quite a following due to the 370Z's characteristics of being an old-school sports car, with its big displacement NA V6 and two-door coupe styling. With that being said, we take a look at why the 370Z is such an underrated all-time great.

10 12-Year Production Run

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First unveiled at the 2008 Los Angeles Auto Show, Nissan will finally be phasing out the 370Z after 12 years on the market. Its styling remained largely unchanged, apart from a revised front bumper and new wheel design in its mid-cycle update in 2013.

via : wikipedia

The 370Z can be bought as a 2-door fastback coupe, and as an open-top roadster throughout its model run.

RELATED: Here's Why The 2020 Nissan 370Z Is The Most Underrated Sports Car

9 It Was A More Athletic Successor To The 350Z

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Back in 2008, the 370Z became the sixth-generation Z model that came out from Nissan, succeeding the 350Z sports car. Almost every piece and component of the 370Z was redesigned, and its more pronounced fender bulges made it look sportier than the previous model.

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Designer Randy Rodriguez made the car sit lower than the 350Z, shortened its wheelbase and overall length, but made it wider and lighter than its predecessor.

RELATED: Nissan Updates 370Z & Teases A Release

8 The Name Came From A Musical

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Just a quick trivia. For those who didn't know, the Fairlady Z nameplate was inspired by a 1956 Broadway musical, "My Fair Lady," which was enjoying a long run at the time.

via: Nissan USA

The name came from Nissan's President who just saw the musical by the time the first Z-car was released in the hope that the car would be just as popular to the people.

RELATED: Happy Birthday To Z! 1969 Fairlady Z 432 Turns 50 This Month

7 It Was The Fastest Production Z-Car

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Via: Pinterest

With an official 0-60mph time of 5.1 seconds and a top speed limited to 155mph, the 370Z was the fastest production Z car.

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via edmunds

We don't know what figures the new 400Z sports car will achieve, but nevertheless, the 370Z posted impressive numbers during its run.

6 The Car Can Rev-Match By Itself

Nissan 370Z Interior
WordPress

When the 370Z came out, it had a thing called SynchroRev Match. For manual transmission users, getting a smooth downshift from high rpm requires a blip of the throttle to match the engine speed to the lower gear. In racing applications, this technique is called the heel and toe, where under braking, the right heel presses the brake pedal, and the toe blips the throttle.

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While that may take some practice to execute perfectly, Nissan made the 370Z take over from doing that with the SynchroRev Match. It basically uses a transmission speed sensor to match the driveshaft with the engine speed. The ECU then calculates the required engine speed once it detects an engagement of the clutch pedal and the manual shifter for perfect downshifts all the time.

5 Last Nissan Production Car To Have An NA V6 Engine

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As the 370Z bows out of production, it will be the last car to have a naturally-aspirated V6 engine coupled to a 6-speed manual transmission. Fans will miss the linear yet torquey power delivery of the VQ37VHR engine.

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In its standard models, the 3.7-liter naturally aspirated V6 engine of the 370Z produced 332hp at 7,000 rpm, with 365N-m of torque available by 5,200rpm. The usual raspy noise of the V6 engine with its trademark smoothness and low-down torque made the car feel like a Japanese muscle car.

4 This Car Turned Gamers Into Real-Life Racers

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Another thing that sets the 370Z apart from its other generational siblings is that it made gamers into real-life racers with Nissan's GT Academy program.

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In partnership with Sony Interactive Entertainment, Nissan allowed Gran Turismo players the opportunity of a lifetime to become a real-world racing driver. The program started in 2008 and lasted until 2016, with the 370Z used in every season for the final race to determine the winner.

3 The Nismo Version Is A Baby GT-R

Nissan 370Z Nismo parked outside
Via autoevolution.com

Nissan's performance division also gave the 370Z the NISMO treatment, churning out two NISMO versions of the 2-door sports car in its production run.

370Z Nismo
via AutoExpress

The first NISMO 370Z came out in 2009, and was more powerful with 350hp from a revised ECU, and 19-inch RAYS forged aluminum-alloy wheels. In 2015, the design was revised further, but power figures stayed the same.

2 BRE Version Is An Awesome Throwback

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In 2010, aftermarket company Stillen came out with the BRE 370Z, a version of the 370Z Nismo coupe with a red, blue and white livery commemorating the 40th anniversary of the original Z's First National Championship.

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It was unveiled at the Road Atlanta Circuit for the BRE reunion dinner in April 2010. Peter Brock designed the livery, the man behind the Shelby Daytona Cobra Coupe and the Corvette Stingray.

1 Used In Endurance Races

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A racing version of the 370Z participated in the GT4 series courtesy of RJN Motorsport. They used the NISMO version and modified it to produce 410hp, plus they swapped out its 6-speed manual transmission for a Quaife 6-speed sequential dogbox.

via : nissan global

It mostly participated in the GT4 European Championship series, and most notably the Dubai 24-hour endurance race, where a lineup of Gran Turismo gamers took the 370Z GT4 to an 8th place finish in the 2016 edition of the Dubai 24.

NEXT: New Photos And Videos Of The Production Nissan 400Z Have Leaked