Interview: Randy Rodriguez, Designer, Nissan 370Z

Asked to work on a design for consideration on the new Z, Rodriguez produced sketches and then digital models, which were eventually milled out as quarter-scale clay models. The wheels were inspired by the MV Agusta FX motorcycle kept parked beside his desk, but his stimulation for the car’s shape had nothing to do with metal and glass. “The best inspiration is to look at something that’s not a car,” he said. “I took a lot from the Discovery Channel, watching Shark Week. I like the 350Z, but I wanted it to be more aggressive and dynamic, and I thought the shark was a good metaphor.”

2009 Nissan 370Z. Click image to enlarge

The beltline became a shark’s profile, with aggressive front and rear lights. “Another big inspiration was looking at athletes and their muscles,” he said. “Their quads, those broad shoulders and big chests, I wanted to look like that – lean, but muscular and proud. I kept envisioning a sprinter. You want a sports car with good stance and I envisioned a sprinter on the blocks, ready to take off. I wanted to give the Z that feeling and explosive energy.”

Of all submitted designs, Nissan selected Rodriguez’s design concept for development. An international team at Nissan Design Centre in Japan finalized and refined the design for production.

Of course, just drawing a car isn’t enough; the design has to be capable of transferring to the assembly line – but with just enough “out there” that it’s still an exciting concept. “When you draw something, it has to have those proportions, or they won’t even look at your sketches because it won’t fit at all,” he said. “As you’re designing what it looks like, the engineers are engineering the mechanical details, and those are constantly moving because there are other people to deal with it. It’s a process of going back and forth, trying to be an efficient as possible. You’re going to have to sketch it so many times over because something won’t fit, or it’s in the wrong place. Designers will always try to push the envelope, push the boundaries, and you want to change it as much as possible if it’ll make it look better. It’s better to push it forward as far as you can while still being realistic, and then bring it back to production. If you start with something that looks like it can go into production, then by the time you do go to production, it’ll look like it’s watered down.

“I’ve sketched a lot of interiors, but we’re such a small team of designers in these studios, my exterior designs are almost always the ones that get chosen. That’s where you build most of your expertise, but I’d like to do some interiors. I did a lot of interior designs when I was in school.”

His love of the Z’s iconic design comes through in his voice. He owns a 1977 280Z “and every time I drive it, people young or old say, hey, I love your car. It has the cult following, and it’s a very special car in its way. With the gas crunch, all the manufacturers are pushing for zero emissions, electric power, different ways of powering a vehicle. Maybe it’ll be powered in a different way, but the Z has such a huge following, it’ll always be around and always have a receptive audience. It’s a balance of performance, design and value, and you can’t go wrong with that.”

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3. Nissan unveils Cube and 370Z in Montreal
4. Nissan unwraps all-new 370Z in Los Angeles
5. Buyer's Guide: 2009 Nissan 370Z