Nissan just dropped a huge amount of automotive nostalgia as it unveils the Z Kaze Concept open air sports car

Nissan has turned the clock back to the 1990s with a new version of its Z sports car – the Z Kaze Concept car.

The Z Kaze Concept brings back one of the most recognizable features from the nameplate’s past, the T-top roof.

It also gets a seriously retro color, rare NISMO wheels and a handful of tuner-inspired upgrades.

The result is a modern Z that looks like it has driven straight out of a 1990s Japanese car meet.

The T-top is back

Nissan unveiled the Z Kaze Concept car at ZCON in Phoenix, Arizona, and the biggest talking point is sitting right above the driver’s head.

The concept has been fitted with a custom T-top roof with removable glass panels, giving the current Z an open-air makeover.

It is a feature that will be instantly familiar to anyone who remembers the 280ZX and 300ZX, both of which offered removable roof panels.

The name Kaze is also a pretty fitting choice, as it means ‘wind’ in Japanese.

The automaker says the concept was created as a passion project by its product planners and designers, with the team looking back at the company’s open-top sports cars as well as the 1990s tuner scene that helped make Nissan and NISMO such huge names among enthusiasts.

And it has definitely leaned into that theme, but that’s nothing new because Nissan is obsessed with sneaking easter eggs in their vehicles.

The Z Kaze is painted in Pacific Teal, a color inspired by the team’s vision of cruising along California’s Pacific Coast Highway on a perfect summer day.

It also gets a vented carbon-fiber hood, wider fenders and a custom carbon-fiber body kit, giving the Z a much more aggressive stance.

The Z Kaze has some seriously cool old-school hardware

Perhaps the coolest detail is hiding down at the corners.

The iconic automaker managed to source an original set of 18-inch NISMO LMGT2 wheels, which have been out of production for years, and had them restored specifically for the Z Kaze.

They measure 10 inches wide at the front and 11 inches at the rear, helping give the car that unmistakable wide and planted look.

The cabin gets its own makeover, too, with white leather-appointed seats and carbon-fiber trim replacing some of the darker, more conventional look of the standard Z.

The automaker has even thought about what happens when the roof panels are removed, fitting Bose Personal Plus speakers into the headrests so drivers can still enjoy their music with the wind rushing through the cabin.

Nissan gave the Z Kaze a tuner-style performance boost

Underneath, the concept gets upgraded NISMO suspension components, while the twin-turbo 3.0-liter V6 has been given some help from Japanese tuning company GReddy.

The upgrades include a front-mount air-to-air intercooler, an Airinx air filter kit and a SUPREME SP exhaust system.

The automaker hasn’t said whether those changes increase the engine’s output beyond the standard Z’s 420 horsepower.

Sadly, there is one catch.

The Z Kaze is a concept and the automaker has not announced plans to put it into production, so you won’t be able to walk into a dealership and order one.

For now, it is essentially Nissan’s way of showing what happens when you take a modern Z and throw a huge amount of 1990s Japanese car culture at it.

But it’s still so cool.