2026 Nissan Z Nismo Review

With 2025 marking the end of production globally for the legendary R35 Nissan GT-R, the Nissan Z takes its place as the Japanese brand’s flagship sports car, at least for now. In fact, the Z is now the only sports car in Nissan’s line-up of mostly SUVs, crossovers and utes. As the flag bearer for the once very sporty brand, it’s never an easy task. But the Z is a good sports car with genuine performance. Yet, there’s still quite a bit left to extract from it.

Cue the Z Nismo, the tuned-up, track-ready version of the regular Z developed by Nissan’s in-house go-fast division. In Australia, its $94,000 plus on-road cost price tag is over $18k more than the standard Z. That’s a hefty premium. This price point also unlocks a slew of eye-watering rivals for consideration, including the Ford Mustang Coupe V8 ($87,990), Toyota Supra Track Edition ($105,295), BMW M240i xDrive Coupe ($102,100) and Mercedes-Benz CLA 35 AMG ($97,900).

Nevertheless, the Nismo name, which stands for Nissan Motorsports, garners respect with pedigree and heritage that is hard to match. And if history was of any indication, this latest Z Nismo should be a fantastic piece of driving machine, much like the previous 370Z Nismo and GT-R Nismo.

Before we dive into the nitty gritty, one of the things that makes a Nismo so special is the way it looks. You can always spot a Nismo from far because they look quite distinctive to their standard Nissan donor cars. The Z Nismo is no exception. More than just a splatter of Nismo badges and special colours, the Z Nismo boasts bespoke and beefier front and rear bumpers, lower side skirts, wheel arch flares and a rear spoiler. These are matched with wider, gloss black 19-inch forged RAYS wheels and the Nismo trademark red accent strip around the car’s underbody and side mirrors.

Draped in the Nismo exclusive Slate Grey with black roof two tone colour scheme, our Z Nismo turned heads everywhere it went during our week-long possession of it. It’s low, wide, sleek and full of attitude. We especially like those multi-spoke wheels and how they fill up those massive wheel arches nicely while sitting almost flush with the fenders. A slight drop in ride height to eliminate some of the wheel arch gap would give it the perfect stance, should be an easy aftermarket fix.

Nissan says the Nismo body panels are functional, aiding aerodynamic by reducing drag and increasing downforce at high speeds. The larger intake in the front bumper also improves engine cooling.

On the inside, things are more toned down. Save for a pair of red Recaro sports bucket seats and the half Alcantara steering wheel with a red centre line, the rest of the cabin is almost a carried over from the standard Z. Compared to similarly priced rivals, the interior of the Z is a little underwhelming and dated. And this is also reflected on the Z Nismo interior. Very little of the $18k premium Nissan charges for the Nismo has been used to spice up the cabin. It still feels a little last generation in there.

The 8.0-inch centre touch screen is not only small in today’s standard, but also a little average in terms of clarify, resolution and the design of the on-screen graphics. It supports DAB+ digital radio and Apple CarPlay / Android Auto integration, though the latter is wired only, not wireless. There’s also no built-in satellite navigation nor a 360-degree surround view camera, only a rear view camera.

Fortunately, what’s right in front of the driver is pretty good. The 12.3-inch driving display looks angry with that Nismo red hue. It gets you into the mood of driving. We just wish it had a little more Nismo specific driving details and customisation, such as a more prominent shift indicator and gear readout for track use.

As with every generation of Z, bar the 300ZX, a trio of analogue gauges sit atop the dash and angled toward the driver. They show the battery volts, turbo speed and turbo boost. Love them but they look a little old school next to that modern digital driving display. Perhaps they should be replaced with animated gauges on digital displays with customisation options. That would be cool.

While we feel the steering wheel rim can be a bit thicker for better grip and sportier looks, we absolutely dig the Recaro buckets. They may not look like they have very thick padding but they are very comfortable and supportive, exactly how sports seats should be. Deep bolsters all around means you stay snug in your seat and don’t get tossed around in corners. They offer manual two-way adjustments so it’s easy to find the most suitable driving position.

Being a 2-seater sports car, the Z Nismo doesn’t have a lot of space in the back – not that owners would care. The boot measures 241 litres in capacity, large enough for a weekend getaway but that’s about it. There is a storage tray behind each seat for the odds and sods in case the boot isn’t enough to fit it all.

It appears that most of the premium you pay for the Nismo version of the Z has, in fact, gone into upgrading the chassis and oily bits, and we’re glad that’s the case (although we think the cabin can still be better). The Z Nismo still shares the same 3.0-litre twin-turbo V6 engine as the regular Z but the Nismo treatment sees improved cooling, revised electronic wastegate control providing increased turbocharger boost and turbine speed, and an independent ignition spark timing strategy similar to that used by the GT-R Nismo. The result is an increase in engine output to 313kW and 520Nm, an improvement of 11kW and 45Nm from the standard Z’s 298kW and 475Nm. Peak torque is now produced from 2000rpm through to 5200rpm, slightly narrower than the standard car’s 1600-5600rpm spread.

The regular Z engine is already one of the hardest revving forced-fed V6s on the market. The Nismo version revs even harder. Pedal to the floor, its 7000rpm cutoff arrives in just a little over a second. Two upshifts later, the speedo nudges 100km/h at a tested 4.4 seconds, two-tenths of a second quicker than the standard Z.

Be aware though, this is a hard car to launch neatly from a standstill. Too much throttle and you get wheel spin all through first gear. Ease it in and you get some turbo lag. The best is to go half throttle at launch then flatten it once rolling. That is if you DIY. Use the launch control and you probably won’t have to worry about finessing it, just be mindful that this will put more wear on the driveline.

For now the Z Nismo is only available with a 9-speed torque converter automatic transmission, though from 2026 a new 6-speed manual variant will be offered alongside the automatic. With revised clutch packs and specific tuning, the auto shifts noticeably quicker than the gearbox in the regular Z, especially in upshifts. But you only feel the snappiness when you dial up the revs, which is just fine as you’d want it to be smooth when you’re just cruising around. On a track we have no doubt the dual clutch-like shifts will be absolutely fantastic.

We wish we had a chance to test the car on a track, but even on some nice winding roads there’s plenty of fun to be had, as long as you keep it on boil. Set the drive mode to Sport (the more focused, Nismo specific Sport+ mode is best left for track use), switch the transmission to manual mode and keep the revs about 3500rpm, you’ll get all that grunt from the mighty turbo V6 right off the top of the pedal. Hurl the revs toward the redline and the exhaust note comes alive, albeit synthetically enhanced through the cabin speakers.

This is a car that is most fun when driven hard. With a balanced front to rear weight distribution and sharp steering, turn-in is eager with a relatively flat cornering stance. Just when you thought you’ve run out of lateral grip on those super grippy, highly temperature sensitive Dunlop SP Sport Maxx GT600 tyres measuring 255 wide in the front and 285 in the back, you’d be surprised how much more you could still lean on them. It’s impressive how much speed this thing can carry through the bends. Get on the power on corner exit and you’ll be over the legal speed limit in next to no time, so watch out!

Indeed, the Z Nismo can feel a little too powerful on our highly restricted public roads. To explore its full potential it has to be driven on a track, where that beast of an engine and the brilliant chassis can be fully unleashed.

Speaking of chassis, the Z Nismo has quite a fair bit going on underneath that is different to the regular Z. There are stiffer suspension with retuned dampers, revised anti roll bars, additional front and rear underfloor bracing, larger 380mm front brakes discs (up 25mm) with heavy duty brake pads and stiffer steering rack mounting bush.

All those make for a pretty rigid chassis that is fantastic for sporty driving but not so much for cruising around town. The ride is a few notches firmer than the standard Z and therefore only just borderline liveable as a daily. Road noise is also high so this is not a refined sports car, certainly less so than the GR Supra or BMW M2.

Fuel economy is also poorer than most rivals except perhaps the Mustang V8. Driven sportily, expect an average of at least 20.0L/100km. Normal driving with a mix of city and freeway, you’ll be looking at around 11.0L/100km against a rated 10.4L/100km.

In terms of safety, the Z Nismo comes standard with all essential driving aids including automatic emergency braking, forward collision warning, blind-spot monitoring, rear cross traffic alert, high beam assist and traffic sigh recognition. There are a total of 6 airbags.

Verdict

2026 Nissan Z Nismo Pricing and Specification

Price (Excl. on-road costs):	From: $94,000 As tested: $95,495 (Slate Grey premium paint with Super Black roof)
Warranty:	5 years/unlimited km
Country of Origin:	Japan
Service Intervals:	12 months/10,000km
Engine:	Twin turbo 3.0-litre V6 petrol engine: 313kW @ 6400rpm, 520Nm @ 2000-5200rpm
Transmission:	9-speed automatic (tested) or 6-speed manual
Drivetrain:	Rear-wheel drive
Power to Weight Ratio (W/kg):	189 (auto)
Combined Fuel Consumption (L/100km):	Claimed: 10.4 / Tested: 11.5 (auto)
RON Rating:	98
Fuel Capacity (L):	62
Body:	2-door coupe, 2 seats
Dimensions (L/W/H/W-B) mm:	4,410/1,870/1,315/2,550
Kerb Weight (kg):	1,633