Nissan just answered the loudest complaint about the Z NISMO. For 2027, the top-trim Z finally accepts a six-speed manual, addressing the one obvious gap in the car’s performance-car credentials since the current generation launched for the 2023 model year. It arrives this summer alongside a heritage-flavored refresh for the base grades and a brake system borrowed directly from the GT-R.
Pricing holds at a level that, given what’s happening to the segment around it, looks increasingly remarkable. The Z Sport opens at $44,480 in either the six-speed manual or nine-speed automatic, with no premium for the stick shift. The Z Performance follows at $54,480, again in both transmission choices at the same price. The Z NISMO starts at $67,260, manual or automatic. Destination adds $1,245 to each.
That bottom number is the one worth pausing on. The Toyota GR Supra exits after the 2026 model year, leaving the Z without its most direct U.S. rival. The Supra had already started at $57,385, meaning the Z was undercutting it by a substantial margin even before the Toyota disappeared from the order books. The Z sold 5,487 units in 2025, up 73.4 percent from 2024, and had already outsold the Supra the year prior. The affordable two-seat sports car segment is getting very thin, and the Z is the one still standing.
The NISMO’s new manual pairs a short-throw shifter with an upgraded clutch, calibrated to complement the car’s track-oriented chassis tuning rather than simply drop a gearbox in and call it done. Every 2027 Z NISMO, manual or automatic, also gets two-piece iron-aluminum brake rotors derived from the GT-R’s system. Nissan says the upgrade sheds 19 pounds of unsprung weight compared to the outgoing rotors while expanding thermal capacity, with enhanced cooling channels to manage heat during sustained track sessions. Nineteen pounds of unsprung weight reduction is meaningful on a sports car; the engineering case for the GT-R sourcing is straightforward.
The Z Sport and Performance grades receive a design refresh with a clear historical bent. A body-color bar runs across the grille opening, and a “Z” emblem replaces the Nissan badge on the nose across all grades. The Performance trim adds forged 19-inch wheels with black spokes and a machined-finish rim. Most visually striking is the new Shinkai Green Pearl Metallic paint, drawn from the S30-generation Z’s color palette. Nissan is also offering a tan interior upholstery option on Performance trim, which pairs with that green exterior in the combination buyers have reportedly been requesting since the current car arrived.
Mechanical updates extend beyond the NISMO brake upgrade. The Z Performance receives larger-diameter shock absorbers for 2027, with Nissan citing improved stability and damping capability across ride and handling. All 2027 Z models also get a revised fuel tank design engineered to maintain consistent fuel delivery during high-lateral-force cornering, the kind of detail that matters when the car is pushed through a sustained corner rather than used as a daily driver.
With the Supra gone and the BMW Z4 fading from the conversation, the Z is increasingly the answer when a buyer wants two seats, rear-wheel drive, a manual transmission, and a price that doesn’t require a second mortgage. Nissan has been refining the formula steadily since the car returned, and the 2027 changes suggest the company intends to hold that ground. The NISMO manual was overdue. The GT-R brakes are a genuine engineering story. The green paint is the right call.
Source: Nissan. Images courtesy of Nissan.