√2024 Nissan Z Nismo unveiled, coming to Australia

The first new Nissan Z sports car in 13 years has added a high-performance, track-ready Nismo edition with more power and sharper handling – but no manual transmission.

The 2024 Nissan Z Nismo sports car has made its formal debut, ahead of first US deliveries by the end of this year – and Australian arrivals expected to commence in a similar timeframe.

Premiered a month after a revealing teaser video – and two years after the regular Nissan Z’s debut – the Nismo edition extracts more power from the twin-turbo V6 engine and adds stiffer suspension, bigger brakes, more hardcore bodywork and visual tweaks.

It has been confirmed for Australia, with prices and specifications to be announced closer to launch.

Showroom arrival timing is yet to be confirmed, however Drive understands it could arrive in Australian showrooms towards the end of this year, shortly after the start of US deliveries between now and December – pending any delays.

Powering the Z Nismo is an upgraded version of the familiar 3.0-litre twin-turbocharged petrol V6 engine, developing 313kW (420 horsepower) and 521Nm – up 15kW (20hp) and 46Nm over the standard car.

Nissan says the power and torque boosts have come from “a combination of” improved engine cooling, increased turbo boost and speed from “revised electronic wastegate control”, and a new “independent ignition spark timing strategy” inspired by the GT-R Nismo supercar.

But it is matched exclusively with a nine-speed automatic transmission, as the six-speed manual gearbox of the regular Z has not been made available with the Nismo’s higher-output engine.

The manual transmission today accounts for 60 per cent of orders for the regular Nissan Z in Australia – down from 70 per cent at launch a year ago.

The automatic gearbox has been upgraded with revised clutch packs for faster shifts, and revised software claimed to have “reduced downshift time by almost half” compared to the standard car.

New for the Z Nismo is a Sport+ drive mode designed to be “so responsive for performance driving that a driver does not need to use the shift paddles on [the race] track” – as well as an upgraded engine oil cooler.

A 0-100km/h acceleration time is not quoted for the Z Nismo. In Drive testing, an automatic version of the regular Nissan Z completed the benchmark sprint in 4.9 seconds.

Under the skin, the Nissan Z Nismo gains reworked suspension with stiffer springs, larger and retuned dampers, and new anti-roll bars, claimed to deliver improved corner turn-in response on a race circuit.

New gloss black 19-inch forged wheels designed by Japan’s Rays fill the wheel arches, which are 0.5 inches (13mm) wider than the alloys on the standard Z (now 10-inch wide at the front, 10.5-inch wide at the rear) but are claimed to be “slightly lighter” due to “advanced construction”.

The wheels are wrapped in Dunlop SP Sport Maxx GT600 tyres, which are 10mm wider at the rear than the normal Nissan Z, with track widths wider by 15mm front and rear.

The front brake discs have been upgraded to measure 381x33mm – up from 356x33mm in top-of-the-range standard Zs in Australia and the US – with a “more performance-focused” brake pad compound.

However the 351x20mm rear discs carry over, and the four-piston front and two-piston rear Akebono brake calipers are unchanged bar red paint for the Nismo.

Weight has increased to 1680kg for the Nismo – up from 1634kg in a flagship version of the standard Nissan Z – based on US specifications.

The exhaust system has not changed compared to the standard Nissan Z, though in the US the Nismo benefits from the louder muffler fitted to automatic models compared to manual versions, due to noise rules for six-speed variants.

The Nissan Z Nismo gains a longer front end branded the “G-Nose”, which is said to be inspired by the early-1970s 240ZG long-nose version of the original 1969 Datsun 240Z sports coupe.

The air intake is wider but slimmer than the regular Z – with the “thinnest honeycomb mesh of any Nissan production car,” the company says – while a red-accented split runs along the bumper, and fins on the corners of the bumper “create vortexes over the front wheels”.

Other upgrades include new side skirts for improved aerodynamics, a taller and wider rear spoiler, and a new rear diffuser with red accents. Nissan says the changes mean the Z Nismo now produces “positive downforce”.

The metallic trim above the window is finished in dark metallic grey, the roof is painted in black as standard, red accents feature around the exterior, and five body colours are available: Black Diamond Pearl, Brilliant Silver, Passion Red Tri-Coat, Everest White Pearl Tri-Coat and the Nismo-exclusive Stealth Grey.

Inside, occupants sit in Recaro sports bucket seats trimmed in leather and Alcantara, with a red centre section and Nismo branding.

Further interior upgrades include red contrast stitching, a leather and Alcantara steering wheel with a red 12 o’clock marker, red engine start/stop and drive mode selector buttons, and revised instrument graphics with a red tachometer outline, Nismo logo, and a revised start-up animation.

Deliveries of the 2024 Nissan Z Nismo are due to commence in the US in the coming months, with Australian arrivals expected to begin closer to the end of the year – though local arrival timing is yet to be locked in, and is subject to any delays.

It is believed to be one of four new key Nissan model launches in Australia over the next 12 months, alongside the Qashqai e-Power hybrid small SUV, Patrol Warrior large off-road SUV, and one more unannounced model.

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