Nissan is tapping into some serious ’90s nostalgia with the Z Kaze Concept, a one-off creation revealed at ZCON in Phoenix, Arizona.
Rather than simply dressing up the current Z with a few retro-inspired details, Nissan has given the car something enthusiasts haven’t seen on a Z in years: a removable T-Top roof. Add classic Nismo wheels, plenty of carbon fiber, and performance upgrades from GReddy, and the result feels like a modern interpretation of the Japanese tuning scene that defined an entire generation.
The T-Top Is The Star Of The Show
The name “Kaze” means “wind” in Japanese, which makes plenty of sense once you see the roof. Nissan fitted the concept with a custom T-Top setup featuring two removable glass panels separated by a central support section.
More importantly, the conversion was designed to look properly integrated into the car rather than like an aftermarket modification. The goal was to give it the fit and finish you would expect from something that came straight from the factory.
The retro influence continues across the exterior. The Z Kaze is finished in Pacific Teal and gets a vented carbon fiber hood that adds visual drama while helping with cooling.
There’s also a complete carbon fiber aero package with a front splitter, side skirts, rear diffuser, and extended fender flares that give the Z a wider and more aggressive stance.
Then there are the wheels.
Nissan chose a set of genuine 18-inch Nismo LMGT2 wheels, a fitting choice for a car celebrating Japan’s tuning culture. The wheels were restored and modified specifically for the project, measuring 10 inches wide at the front and 11 inches at the rear.
The ’90s Theme Continues Inside
The cabin takes a cleaner and more premium approach, combining white leather upholstery with black accents and carbon fiber trim around the center console and instrument area.
The seats also feature Bose speakers built directly into the headrests. It’s a particularly useful touch in a car designed to be driven with its roof panels removed, where wind noise can quickly overwhelm a conventional audio system.
GReddy Joins The Project
Under the hood sits the familiar 3.0-liter twin-turbo V6, but Nissan didn’t leave the powertrain completely untouched.
GReddy supplied several performance upgrades, including an air-to-air intercooler, an Airinx performance air filter, and a Supreme SP exhaust system. Nismo also upgraded the suspension to sharpen the car’s handling and improve stability.
Nissan hasn’t revealed how much power the modified engine produces, so we don’t know exactly how much extra performance the GReddy hardware brings. For reference, the standard Nissan Z produces 400 horsepower, while the Z Nismo pushes that figure to 420 horsepower.
A Modern Z With Old-School JDM Character
The Z Kaze works because Nissan didn’t simply try to recreate a sports car from the 1990s. Instead, it borrowed some of the details enthusiasts remember most fondly from that era and applied them to the modern Z.
The removable T-Top, Pacific Teal paint, LMGT2 wheels, GReddy upgrades, and carbon fiber bodywork all come together without hiding the identity of the current-generation car.
For now, the Z Kaze remains a one-off concept, but it also shows just how naturally a T-Top configuration can work with the modern Z.
And that leaves Nissan with an interesting question: should the T-Top make a proper comeback?
Would you buy a Nissan Z with a removable T-Top roof?
