I’ll say it here once, even though it’s obvious really: if you buy a Zed for the dragstrip, you’re an idiot. Even more so in ‘Merica, where there’s a billion better options.
But yes you’re right, this is down to money. Which is what the 400 always has been, a finance exercise rather than an engineering one. It’s always felt like a parts bin special rather than anything interesting or new.
Just remember the excitement of 2002 when we all saw the 350 for the first time, it was genuinely something incredible. I could forgive the 370 being mostly the same car given the success of the 350, but to do the same again but seemingly with significantly less thought it unforgivable.