IS NISSAN OFF-PISTE?

Covers are set to come off a 370Z based snow speeder, as Nissan leans in to northern-hemisphere winter ahead of next week’s Chicago Auto Show.

Swapping high-performance rubber for front skis and rear snow-tracks, Nissan’s 370Zki (That’s 370 Ski to you) puts 240kW (322 horsepower) worth of Z-car legacy on ice.

Fitting in a chunky 1.2 metres of snow track, the convertible has seen a huge amount of spacing, rerouting and adapting to get the drift machine off bitumen and on to the bunny hill.

No show pony, the drift king’s snowmobile has already proven itself on the slopes of a Wyoming ski resort. We have sought clarification on whether the Fairlady has seen an overall increase in its ability to ‘send it.’

Michael Bunce, vice president, Product Planning, Nissan North America said the 370Zki made perfect sense for the Z sub-brand.

“With the Nissan Z’s long heritage of motorsports competition, the 370Zki seemed like a natural combination.”

OK then.

Joining the Z in the Windy City, Nissan has also designed an Armada (Patrol) for the ski patrol. Roosting the white stuff everywhere it goes, the black-ice beater wagon is a more conventional take on alpine conveyance.

It’s also gone under the knife, with a three-inch suspension lift, extreme off-road tyres, massive front bumper, light bar and roof rack. It can tow nearly four tonne, two snowmobiles, or one 370Zki.

“The one-off Snow Patrol project takes Armada out of the carpool line and onto snow-covered mountains – returning Armada to its roots as an adventure-ready offroader,” reads Nissan’s press release.

The Nissan 370Zki and the Nissan Armada Snow Patrol SUV will be on public display at the 2018 Chicago Auto Show, which runs Feb. 10-19 at Chicago’s McCormick Place.

Is a Nissan 370Zki a cool idea or stupid? let us know in the comments.