Nissan Z Runs From Florida Police

It seems that police chases these days often involve some sort of muscle car or a crappy econo-vehicle, with the occasional truck or SUV in the mix. Everyone will have their opinion about why Japanese performance cars like the Nissan Z isn’t seen in them too much, which is what makes this dashcam footage from Florida Highway Patrol so interesting.

Watch a Liberty Walk R35 shoot flamethrowers at night here.

After all, we don’t see how the Z stacks up against modern police cruisers pretty much ever. We know what a Charger, Challenger, Mustang, Camaro, and even an Altima can do in the hands of your average person who doesn’t pull over for cops. But the Fairlady has remained a bit of a mystery.

This starts like so many chases as a routine traffic stop. The trooper notices the Nissan driver is crossing over lane lines, possibly indicating intoxication or distraction. However, after the Z pulls into a gas station once the trooper turns on his lights, the suspect uses the maneuverability of his sports car to gain an immediate advantage.

Interestingly, in a flat-out run on wide roads with well-spaced lights, the police SUV catches up before long. But the suspect decides to dodge into a neighborhood, probably hoping the tighter turns will favor his Z.

Sure enough, he starts taking turn after turn and begins gaining distance from the trooper once more. But the guy also signals before turning, something we’ve seen before that’s quite frankly bizarre. While some suspects do this to try throwing off police, this guy’s signaling like he’s out for a leisurely drive. Why does anyone do this while fleeing from a cop?

Still, the trooper has excellent driving skills and modern SUVs don’t handle like pigs, so the suspect can’t just slip away into the night so easily. The guy does pull out a few fancy moves, making the video entertaining to watch. He also gooses it, sending his sports car careening into front yards before spinning out, so perhaps impairment was a factor the whole time?

The best is the lady who comes out of her house to fight as the guy gets arrested. Oh Florida.

Check out the video for yourself.