For years, enthusiasts have been asking Nissan to do the obvious thing: put a manual gearbox in the Z Nismo. Now it’s happening — and the timing couldn’t be better. With the Toyota GR Supra and BMW Z4 both out of production as of March 2026, the segment for manual, twin-turbo sports cars under $70,000 has never been thinner. Nissan is stepping into that vacuum with exactly the car the market has been waiting for.
The announcement of a manual-equipped Z Nismo is exactly the kind of move enthusiasts have been demanding. When Nissan first launched the Z Nismo with an automatic gearbox only, the backlash was swift — and, to Nissan’s credit, the company actually listened.
While on one hand, Nissan is leveraging partnerships with Mitsubishi for new models and exploring ties with other automakers, on the other it’s taking a page from Toyota’s playbook and investing heavily in enthusiasts again. Nissan plans to double its range of Nismo models in the next few years from five to ten products globally, and reports suggest a return of the Nissan Skyline GT-R in the form of a RWD sports sedan with twin-turbo power and a manual transmission. That sedan may arrive in the US as the rumored Infiniti sports sedan.
How Nissan Is Capitalizing On The Death Of Two Manual Rivals
2020 – 2025 Toyota GR Supra front 3/4 angle in blue while drivingToyota
As production of the joint-venture BMW Z4 and Toyota GR Supra concludes in 2026, the mid-tier sports car segment faces a massive vacuum heading into 2027. By remaining in production, the Nissan Z is perfectly positioned to absorb ousted enthusiasts and capture uncontested market share. The Z’s primary advantage lies in its pure, traditional mechanical package.
While the Supra faced criticism for its German-borrowed underpinnings, the Z delivers an authentically Japanese rear-wheel-drive platform paired with a twin-turbo V6 and an available manual transmission. With its two main $50,000 to $65,000 rivals exiting showrooms, buyers seeking a brand-new, front-engine sports car with high-performance headroom will have virtually no other direct competitors to turn to.
Furthermore, Nissan can capitalize by expanding its lineup to fill both performance niches left behind. The core Z and heritage trims comfortably absorb former Supra buyers looking for accessible horsepower, while an expanded Z NISMO offering—especially if paired with a manual gearbox—directly targets hard-edged track enthusiasts abandoned by the Supra’s departure. By surviving the sports car extinction, the Nissan Z transitions from an underdog rival to the undisputed default choice for enthusiast buyers
Nissan Z’s Dominance Will Only Improve
The Z has been a success story for Nissan in the US since its launch. While it drew early criticism for its aging platform and inherited twin-turbo V6, that hasn’t stopped it from overtaking the Supra as America’s turbocharged Japanese sports car of choice — and being America’s most affordable 400-hp sports car certainly helps.
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At the end of 2025, the Z nearly doubled the Supra’s market share. With roughly 3,000 manual sports car buyers left without options after the Supra’s death, Nissan’s Z Nismo could capture an additional 40–60% market share in 2026.
Why Did The Manual Take So Long?
2025 Nissan Z NismoIan Wright/CarBuzz/Valnet
Given the strong manual sales figures for the GR Supra, it’s fair to ask why Nissan waited this long — especially when a manual was already available in the standard Z. The official line from Nissan was that it was unclear whether there was sufficient demand. But there’s also the possibility that the existing manual couldn’t comfortably handle the extra 34 lb-ft of torque on offer in Nismo form. We’ve seen this issue derail manual hopes in other performance cars, with the BMW M2 CS being the most recent example.
Whatever the reasons for not equipping the Z Nismo with a manual initially, clearly something has changed.
The Supra’s sales figures have likely been telling, and fans have made their feelings known loudly enough. But there may be more at play. While the assumption is that the standard Z’s manual will be carried over here, it’s worth noting that the 6-speed unit in use is old — it traces its roots back several generations to the 370Z era. And it carried over that car’s weaknesses, too, with notchy first-to-second shifts even when driven gently. As much as it pains me to say it, the Z Nismo deserved better than that gearbox.
Nissan Z Nismo Specs and Drive Characteristics
2025 Nissan Z Nismo exterior detail shot of a rear wheelIan Wright/CarBuzz/Valnet
2026 Nissan Z Nismo Engine Specification And Performance
Engine
Nismo-tuned 3.0-liter twin-turbo V6
Horsepower
420 hp
Torque
384 lb-ft
0-60
3.9* seconds
Top Speed
165* mph
MPG
17/24/19 city/highway/combined
The Z Nismo was always intended to rival the Mk V Supra, but with the Supra out of the picture, it should see an even larger sales increase. That said, even if the Supra were still available, Nissan makes a compelling case for itself. The Nismo does command a significant premium over the standard variants, however; a base model Z starts around $42,970, while the Nismo tops the range at around $65,750.
Our road tester found the base model to be a great daily driver, but its suspension is too soft to make it a perfect canyon carver or track weapon. Nismo addressed that by stiffening the suspension to keep the chassis flat no matter how hard you push it. The trade-off, as our tester noted, is that the ride becomes genuinely uncomfortable on longer stints.
“Now, it feels like the power is absolutely everywhere all the time, and gear shifts are lightning quick. The Nismo Z isn’t crazy fast in 2025, but it’s plenty fast — and the power is usable. It also sounds fantastic, which is unusual for a V6. The Nismo loses some of the sound insulation, and the exhaust is ever so keen to let you know what the engine is doing with a large degree of throatiness that leads to a satisfying roar when wound out.” – Ian Wright, Senior Road Tester, CarBuzz (2025 Nissan Z Nismo Drive Review)
The Six-Speed Should Make The Nismo’s Asking Price Easier To Justify
2027 Nissan Z NismoNissan
At around $65,750, the Nismo Z is not cheap, especially relative to its own base model. However, the long-awaited addition of a six-speed manual transmission could transform the Nissan from being just another fast coupe into one of the last surviving examples of a dying breed.
That transition is especially important now that the perhaps more obvious go-to choices of the BMW and Toyota are gone, as buyers might now be more willing to part with the cash with no clear competition left in the market. Still, the Nismo doesn’t need to solely rely on its engaging gearbox to justify its price, as it comes equipped with a whole host of performance goodies to ensure it deserves to wear that all-important Nismo badge:
- Additional output: the Nismo Z sports an extra 20 horsepower and 34 lb-ft of torque
- Suspension tweaks: stiffer springs and bushes, plus a lower ride height and uprated anti-roll bars
- Tire and brake package: the lightweight 19-inch RAYS alloys are shod in grippy Dunlop rubber and conceal 15-inch rotors, hugged by Akebono four-piston calipers which pair with aggressive, track-capable pads
- Cosmetic tweaks: there’s no mistaking the Nismo as a standard Z, thanks to aggressive spoilers and splitters, plus it sports figure-hugging Recaro seats inside, too.
So long as Nissan delivers the manual package properly, the six-speed Nismo could easily be seen as a value-packed enthusiast’s driving toy, rather than just an expensive Z.
Hopeful For Changes To Make It More Special
2026 Nissan Fairlady Z NismoNissan
I’m hoping Nissan has updated that transmission for duty here — not just to improve shift quality, but to handle the extra torque. Nothing would frustrate fans more than a neutered Z Nismo with reduced torque figures just to accommodate a gearbox that isn’t up to the job. Nissan would need to justify the cost of an upgrade, of course, but that may be easier now that we know of its broader plans for new models.
There’d be no point investing that much just for the Z, which is sold in only a handful of markets globally. Toyota was able to invest in a manual for the Supra because it was, fundamentally, the same transmission used across a range of BMWs including the M2, M3, and M4. Economies of scale made it viable.
2026 Nissan Fairlady Z NismoNissan
For Nissan, those economies of scale would come from launching more manual, RWD vehicles. The incoming GT-R reboot and its accompanying Infiniti counterpart — both slated to use the Z Nismo’s twin-turbo V6 — could be the models that justified the investment in upgrades. By spreading development costs across three models, Nissan can make the numbers work and give enthusiasts what they’ve been asking for.
Finding A New Z Nismo Might Be Difficult
2027 Nissan Z Nismo front angle in gray while parkedNissan
The Nissan Z has never sold all that well, but it’s on an upward trend. In 2024, dealerships moved 3,164 units, then 5,487 in 2025. We’ll just have to wait and see how the sales figures roll in at the end of this year. That said, we already know production will be severely limited for the 2027 model year.
Information sourced from a Nissan dealer meeting earlier this year revealed that there will be fewer than three 2027 Zs per dealership. As daunting as that sounds for prospective buyers, those numbers only account for the models being sent to sit on showroom floors. Buyers will still be able to walk into a dealership to custom order their Z — they’ll just have to wait weeks, or likely months, to receive it afterward.
Of those models sent to dealers, it’s not clear how many will be the new Nismo variant. It’s probably safe to assume that most buyers who want the new Z Nismo with a manual transmission will have to order theirs, then be subject to the dealer’s “market adjustments.”
Sources: Toyota, Nissan, BMW
