Long bonnet, short deck, and a whole sleek package – the Nissan 240Z (or Fairlady Z/S30 in other markets) is regarded as one of the most beautiful cars ever built. It's the first generation of Nissan two-seat coupes otherwise known as the Z cars. 

Just this year, reports circulated that the successor of the long-running Nissan 370Z will get retro cues, specifically to be inspired by the 240Z. That's good news, considering how well-designed the original Z car is.

Gallery: Nissan 480Z rendering by Leyang Bai

California-based Designer Leyang Bai takes this inspiration and created his own take on the 370Z successor and posted it on his Behance page.

Dubbed as the 480Z, the whole work required four phases and 294 work hours. Leyang Bai's take on the next Z car successfully combines retro cues with Nissan's current design language. It looks really nice, in our opinion, and if the 2022 Nissan 400Z will look anything close to this, we believe it has a strong fighting chance to revive its plummeting sales.

Speaking of the 400Z, which isn't the official name as of this writing, the next Z car is reportedly borrowing the twin-turbo 3.0-litre V6 engine from the Infiniti Q60, producing 400 bhp (298 kilowatts) and 350 pound-feet (475 Newton-metres) of torque. A six-speed manual will also be available as an option in tandem with the usual auto slushbox.

The 370Z successor's debut is believed to be within the next 12 months, albeit, we won't be surprised if it will be pushed further back because of the current coronavirus pandemic. Trademarks also surfaced this year suggesting a new logo for the brand and for the car itself, which would probably debut in the latest generation of the Z sports coupe.