Happy Saturday! Welcome to this week’s edition of the Official DoubleClutch.ca News Rundown, where we recap the top automotive headlines from the week that was in one convenient package. Let’s go.
Nissan z Kaze concept brings back the T-Top
Nissan's latest Z is a delightful mash-up of iconic Z-car design cues — my personal favourite being the 300ZX-flavoured tail light treatment. If you're also a fiend for the Z32 lip service, then the Nissan Z Kaze concept may very well have made your week.
Nissan put together the Z Kaze for ZCON, a festival in the U.S. for Z-car enthusiasts. The crown jewel of this concept is obviously the T-top roof, though the paint is a close second. Like the Z31 and Z32, the last Zs to feature T-tops, the Z Kaze concept trades the solid, fixed roof for two removable glass panels. The removable panels themselves seem more Z32-styled, with body-coloured sides to lend more visual continuity.
And then there's the paint. The Z Kaze concept is finished in a colour Nissan calls Pacific Teal, a shade that's equally perfect for a slammed Hardbody low-rider. Nissan also added hood vents, fender flares, and a lip kit all around, all finished in carbon fibre. It's all tied together by a set of rare and highly sought-after 18-inch NISMO LMGT2 wheels, refinished in white with a chrome lip. It's all very tite.
Inside, Nissan distracts us from the automatic shifter on the centre console and two pedals in the driver's footwell with white seats. Look closer and you'll pick out the Bose headrest speakers out of a Kicks, surely to better crank out tunes over the extra wind noise. The white leather extending to the lower dash and door panels, as well as the extra carbon fibre trim, round out the interior enhancements.
Under the hood, Nissan added a whole bunch of components from Greddy, including a front-mount intercooler, an air filter from their Airinx line, and an axle-back exhaust from their Supreme SP line. What they didn't dish was details on the Z Kaze's suspension setup, only suggesting they dipped into the NISMO parts bin.
Nissan will be showing the Z Kaze concept at ZCON this weekend in Phoenix, then at the Japanese Classic Car Show in Long Beach at the end of October. After that, who knows — they may even put the T-Tops into production again.
Honda 'Pilot xxl' may be in the works
Not only has the current-generation Honda Pilot been around for a while now, it's expected to stick around even longer. But word on the street is, a larger version will join the lineup in the next decade.
Automotive News reports the new model will be something of a "Pilot XXL," inferring it will be larger than the Pilot and positioned as a flagship — something like a Honda version of Acura's upcoming "MDX XL", loosely previewed below. The report further cites "a person briefed on the plan" suggesting we'll see the new Pilot variant debut in the first quarter of 2032.
That's five whole years from now. Better settle in for the ride, because the current Pilot — and a handful of other models — will stick around mostly unchanged for a few more years. At least we'll still be able to save the manuals with the Civic Si.
Oh wait, Honda's pausing production on that one, too.
GM updates Chevy, GMC HD trucks with new V8
GM has revealed another big update to the 2027 Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra HD trucks, but you can't see this one right away.
A new 8.3-litre Duramax turbodiesel V8 now serves as the Silverado and Sierra HD's flagship engine option. It puts out a modest 555 horsepower, and an absolutely meaty 1,230 pound-feet of torque. Naturally, towing capacity is up across the board, ranging from 20,000 up to 38,000 pounds depending on the truck's configuration. There's also a 6.6-litre gasser V8, good for 412 hp and 472 lb-ft of torque. Yawn.
Also new for 2027 is the addition of electric power steering. This may seem trivial, but the new Silverado and Sierra are the first HD trucks in the segment to make the move. Gone is the previous recirculating-ball setup, finally replaced by electrically assisted rack-and-pinion steering. Also new for 2027 is an electronic brake booster and upgraded braking hardware.
Expect to see the 2027 Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra HD in dealers by the end of this year. Production will kick off shortly in Flint, Michigan, and Oshawa — heyo!
And the rest
Here's the new Bentey Torcal, and here's the new Nissan Rogue Hybrid.