Let’s be honest with ourselves, this car—a Nissan 350Z with four light bars, a lift kit, a black steel front bumper, big tires, deeply tinted windows and a large wing—checks every box a LaCrosse-playing, protein shake-drinking, boat shoe-wearing bro might want to check. And yet, somehow, I like it, too.
I really don’t know why I dig this lifted 350Z so much. From a hard-core off-road standpoint, it’s not great. It only has two-wheel drive, it doesn’t have a low range gear, the breakover angle is abysmal, the suspension’s got no flex, and in all likelihood, there’s not much underbody protection.
But who cares, because this thing looks totally hoonable, and would probably do alright on a rallycross course (we know it can be done, as Instagram-er overnightpartsfromjapan has proven with his 350Z.)
The small overhangs means the Z can make it up steep hills, the trimmed fenders let you clear big rubber, the limited slip differential makes the most of the grip from those rear tires, and—if this thing’s a manual—it’s probably genuinely “epic” to drive quickly on dirt with nearly 300 ponies on tap.
It might not perform as well as that wild Nissan 240SX Prerunner we showed last year, but I’d totally get a tan, grow out my “flow,” and throw on a tank-top, like I’d legally have to do in order to drive this thing. It’d probably be totally worth it.