Nissan Forgets RB Engine Exists, Develops DOHC Head for S30 Z

To celebrate NISMO’s 40th anniversary, Nissan unveiled a gorgeous S30-generation Z with an impressive jewel of engineering bolted between the fenders. The car and its fabulous engine debuted at the Nostalgic 2Days 2024 show in Yokohama. Its L-series inline-six engine now displaces 3.0 liters and is topped by a DOHC cylinder head developed by Nissan. The added displacement helped boost torque output, while the massively improved breathing from the four-valve head allows the engine to rev to 7,500rpm and produce more than 300 horsepower in the process. That’s more than double the 2.4-liter L-series that was originally found in the 240Z!

There are just two problems with the new cylinder head. First, according to The Drive, Nissan isn’t selling it to any intrepid builders who want the ultimate top-end for their restomod classic Z. At least not yet. Second, the RB engine family, which replaced the L family of Nissan inline-six engines, already has a DOHC cylinder head and a ton of performance potential, as seen in the legendary Skyline. Nissan teased that this cylinder head could be made available, but the price might be prohibitively expensive at the small volumes that this niche market would support, especially considering the existence of the aforementioned factory DOHC Nissan engines.

Of course, we’re not faulting Nissan for building this unique cylinder head. It’s a great homage to the beautiful S30 Z, and it blends characteristics from Nismo’s 40 years of inline-six performance heritage into a single engine in a way that a simple engine swap would not have. Nissan is also helping owners of some of its classic cars by manufacturing parts that are otherwise hard to find. We just can’t help but wonder why they’d show this head if they didn’t plan to offer it up for sale eventually. Quit teasing us, Nissan. SEMA 2024 is just seven months away, and that would be the perfect place to show us a production version of this head along with an exhaust header and a pair of intake manifolds, one for those who prefer carbs and another for those who’d rather use fuel injection. Hey, an inline-six fan can dream.

***

Check out the Hagerty Media homepage so you don’t miss a single story, or better yet, bookmark it. To get our best stories delivered right to your inbox, subscribe to our newsletters.