LAUGHING IN OLD MAN WINTER’S FACE
No reason for Nissan’s 370Zki to exist, yet here we are — and it’s magnificent
In the right flavour, the Nissan 370Z is a darling of a sports car. Consider the Z Nismo cookies-and-cream in a chocolate-dipped waffle cone; a little expensive, but every bite and/or perfectly rev-matched downshift makes it all worth it. But sometimes, they’re out of cookies-and-cream and you have to make do with frozen yogurt — er, an automatic 370Z roadster.
How do you make it interesting ? Well, chocolate sprinkles help — at least, for the frozen yogurt. For the automatic Z droptop? Easy. Raise the suspension and swap the wheels for skids and tracks. Boom! Problem solved.
Once you figure out how to pronounce the name — 370Z-ski? 370-zki? Something like that — you’ll realize just how batty this creation is. Nissan deserves a boatload of fist bumps for the gall it took to put this thing together, and for seemingly no good reason other than “why the hell not?” There’s no good, logical reason for the 370Zki to exist, yet here we are. It’s magnificently nutty.
Following a similar formula to the equally nutty Rogue Warrior, the 370Zki starts with a regular ol’ car you can buy from a Nissan dealer. In fact, the top half of the 370Zki looks remarkably normal; the only give away is a bright, if not somewhat gaudy, wrap over the silver body panels. Oh, and yellow headlight film. Apparently, Nissan did this so it looks like the car is wearing ski goggles.
The bottom half, though, is better suited to a snowmobile. In place of the rear wheels, the 370Zki wears tracks. And instead of front wheels, it has a pair of skis. Makes sense. Unlike the Rogue Warrior, the 370Zki is rear-wheel drive.
To accommodate the extra equipment, Nissan reached out to a California shop called The Westside Group. Over the course of about 10 weeks, the car’s entire driveline had to be pulled out, and a custom lift kit installed, along with a whole host of modified components. Think modified rear spring mounts, wheel spacers, custom engine and transmission mounts, skid plates, and rerouted brake lines and exhaust.
The icing on the cake are the tracks and skis, courtesy of American Track Truck. Measuring 48 inches long by 30 inches high and 15 inches wide, these tracks work with 56-inch skis up front. They change the 370’s geometry so much, we’re told you can’t put up the top because sensors in the top’s motors and mechanisms think you’re not on level ground. Not a big deal, though; this thing would be nowhere near as much fun with the top up.
Hopping into the 370Zki is simple enough. The added height makes for a less-than-graceful climb, but once inside, it’s remarkably normal. The interior is untouched; stock seats remain in place, the infotainment, climate controls and, thankfully, heated seats are all functional, and the carpeting and trim pieces are still intact. In fact, the only giveaways — from the inside, at least — are a couple of warning lights illuminated in the instrument cluster. Apparently the tire-pressure monitoring system doesn’t like it when you remove the wheels.
Of course, once you get rolling, the differences are much more obvious. With conventional wheels, the Z isn’t exactly as cushy and smooth as a Bentley Continental — or even a Maxima, for that matter — but the tracks and skis are almost unbearable, even on hard-packed snow and ice. The noise coming from the traction apparatus alone is enough to almost completely drown out the Z’s otherwise delicious exhaust note. And if you have any fillings, well, you won’t have them for much longer.
But, good heavens, is this thing hilarious or what? What’s most surprising is the difficulty — or, rather, lack thereof — of driving it. The steering is somewhat heavier and, given the 370Zki is essentially a one-of-one prototype, the don’t-cock-it-up-for-everyone-else mentality gets in the way of truly letting loose. But kicking up a storm cloud of snow while pegging the throttle, and pelting yourself, your passenger and the rest of the interior with chunks of ice as you slide out of a corner, is addictive.
Given the amount of grip from the rear tracks, it takes a surprising amount of effort to kick out the back end, but it’s easy enough to recover. You’d probably have more fun and pull off longer slides by slapping a set of winter tires onto a regular 370Z, but a 370Z with winter tires is not a 370Z with tracks and skis.
Best of all? If you felt so inclined, the meat-and-potatoes equipment of this batty creation are readily available. So theoretically, you could pick up a set of tracks and skis yourself from American Track Truck and do this to your own 370Z, provided you have money to burn on the custom fab work.
In the coming weeks, trees will bud, temperatures will climb and snow will melt away. For many enthusiasts, this is when the toys come out. But come next November and December, know this: Nissan’s 370Zki proves you don’t have to hibernate. Instead, just throw a pair of skis and tracks on your sporting machine, and you’re golden. Just make sure it has a roof and, you know, maybe avoid driving over anything that isn’t fresh snow.