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The updated 2027 Nissan Z has arrived as promised, and to sweeten the deal even more, the Japanese automaker is finally righting one of the sport coupe’s most egregious wrongs: the high-performance Nismo model’s lack of a manual transmission. For 2027, the 420-horsepower Nismo model can be equipped with a 6-speed stick.
Fear not. Despite its current financial troubles, that wasn’t the only change Nissan made to the 2027 Z. The Sport and Performance models get new front and rear bumpers (which Nissan says were inspired by the company’s classic sports cars) and the color selection has been tweaked. We hope you like green.
There are updates under the sheet metal too. The Performance trim gets new, larger shock absorbers intended to improve stability and damping capability, Nissan said. In addition to that, Nissan redesigned the Z’s fuel tank for 2027. The new design should help curb fuel starvation issues on the track.
2027 Nissan Z Nismo
The Nismo model also comes with an upgraded clutch that was designed to better accommodate its bump in power—it still makes 420 horsepower and 384 lb-ft of torque (vs. 400 hp and 350 lb-ft in the standard Z). Nissan made additional tweaks to the Nismo’s throttle and ignition timing better match its power delivery to the character of the manual gearbox. There’s also a new set of front brakes, which Nissan said it derived from the GT-R’s stoppers.
Nissan also said it tweaked the Z’s Active Sound Enhancement and Active Noise Cancellation systems to accommodate the stick too. Yep, there’s fakery everywhere these days.
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2027 Nissan Z
The 2027 model year will also mark the beginning of the Z’s transition to being order-only, meaning dealers won’t be stocking them just for show. This should make it easier to order the exact car you want, rather than being pressured to buy something off-the-lot. The downside is that the days of super-cheap Zs just sitting in dealer inventory are now likely well behind us.
Nissan will begin shipping the 2027 Z this summer. We expect to learn pricing a little closer to launch.
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Byron is an editor at The Drive with a keen eye for infrastructure, sales and regulatory stories.
