Nova-Drive is a small Mid-Rim ship manufacturer that sells most of its small range of freighters in systems along the Rimma Trade Route. It does not design its own models, instead licensing or purchasing designs from other firms and manufacturing modified versions for niche markets.
Nova-Drive sub-licensed the manufacturing plans of Corellian Engineering Corporation's YT-1200 a few months after the latter company phased it out in favor of later production models. Though CEC deemed the line too dated for active production, Nova-Drive saw an opportunity to upgrade the design to make it competitive with current offerings in the independent spacer market.
The hull was stretched and reinforced, allowing for more powerful engines, larger cargo bays, and more spacious living quarters. The 3-Z is as fast at sublight speeds as a stock YT-1300, and features some moderate improvements over the YT-1300 - the central-dorsal mounted sensordish provides an excellent scanning radius; the standard port-starboard mounted laser cannons provides excellent forward-above-below-rear firing arcs; and the forward-opening cargo bays allows easy access to the cargo bays. Additionally, the cockpit featured a more open cockpit canopy than the YT-1300, and the primary escape pod is in the primary crew area. | 
