2024 Nissan Z NISMO Is a Big Ask

Lukewarm feelings about our experience behind the wheel of the latest Nissan Z-car left us anxiously awaiting the track-oriented model wearing the vaunted NISMO badge. That car has finally arrived in the form of the 2024 Nissan Z NISMO, but the automaker is asking for a couple of big concessions if you want to snag one of your own. Depending on the sting of inflation and your preferences as a driver, they might be deal breakers.

That said, Nissan’s go-fast division has significantly upped the Z’s game over the heretofore top-level Performance model. Underfloor chassis braces add noticeable rigidity to the NISMO’s structure, while firmer bushings, larger passive dampers, and stiffer springs and anti-roll bars discipline its body motions and sharpen its reflexes. Larger 15.0-inch front brake rotors with four-piston calipers (13.8-inch, two-piston rear units carry over from the Performance trim) bring greater security in braking zones. Wider 19-inch Rays forged aluminum wheels wrapped with Dunlop SP Sport Maxx GT600 summer tires (sized 255/40R-19 in front, 285/35R-19 in back) greatly increase overall stick.

Countering the 100 or so pounds of extra mass those upgrades bring is a hotter tune for the Z’s twin-turbo 3.0-liter V-6, now rated at 420 horsepower and 384 lb-ft of torque, gains of 20 horses and 34 lb-ft. Increased cooling capacity, including a larger engine-oil chiller, should help protect the engine and drivetrain during the track days this car was designed for. Which brings us to issue number one: NISMO engineers opted for a beefed-up version of the Z’s nine-speed automatic transmission, rather than its six-speed manual, because it’s simply the quicker way around a racetrack. That may be true, and this two-pedal ‘box does display impressively snappy and well-orchestrated shifts via a new Sport+ drive mode. But this misses the point of a driver’s car. With only steering-wheel paddles and an electronic shift dongle on the console to busy ourselves with, our attention often drifted to the antiquity of the Z-car’s switchgear.

Still, back-to-back laps of the Performance model and the Z NISMO revealed the latter to be vastly better at instilling confidence. While forward thrust feels about the same (figure on getting to 60 mph in the low-four-second range), the new car’s steering responses are crisper, its cornering attitude is more stable, and it hangs on in turns with a tenacity its lesser kin lacks. Combine all of that with revised stability- and launch-control programming, and exploring this car’s limits is a breeze. Surprisingly, the civilized demeanor extends to the street, where a reasonably compliant ride, more relaxed Standard and Sport modes, and embracing support from the model-specific Recaro seats had us marveling at the car’s dual-natured temperament. You could drive this thing daily.

The Z’s aerodynamics, and arguably its aesthetics, benefit from the NISMO’s aggressive bumpers, rocker-panel extensions, and slightly taller rear spoiler. Color choices are limited to black, white, red, silver, and a model-exclusive Stealth Grey, but you can’t delete the ankle-height red stripe that rings the body and kills some of the retro vibe. Inside, more scarlet touches grace the seats and the 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster, with bits of dark microfiber thrown in on the steering wheel and elsewhere for good measure.

Yet the root of the Z NISMO’s rub is its starting price, which at $66,085 is some $12,780 higher than the Performance model’s. It’s also a bigger outlay than what a BMW M2 or a Ford Mustang Dark Horse demands, and not far below the ask of a Chevy Corvette Stingray or a Porsche 718 Cayman. Nissan says it hasn’t ruled out a manual version if customer demand is sufficient, but even then this might be a tough sell.

Technical Editor

Mike Sutton is an editor, writer, test driver, and general car nerd who has contributed to Car and Driver‘s reverent and irreverent passion for the automobile since 2008. A native Michigander from suburban Detroit, he enjoys the outdoors and complaining about the weather, has an affection for off-road vehicles, and believes in federal protection for naturally aspirated engines.