It is finally happening. As car enthusiasts worldwide clamored for a manual-equipped Nissan Z Nismo, the Japanese automaker listened, and it’s finally becoming a reality. Set to debut at the upcoming 2026 Tokyo Auto Salon, the new Nissan Z Nismo is finally getting a stick shift and three pedals.
For the past few years, the manual was limited to the standard Z. Paul Hawson, Nissan’s director of advanced product planning, told Road and Track that the decision was due to customer feedback during the development of the Z Nismo. The customers of the Z Nismo were “track-oriented people”:
“Our process is that way. So the customers we talked to, when it comes to the Nismo, they were track-oriented people. These are people that are concerned about lap times, they’re not concerned about the nostalgia for Z. We have something for that. It’s the Z. This one, in particular, is lap time and performance, and it is faster. If you benchmark it, look at other manufacturers that are making sports cars, a lot of them are two-pedal now. Even the upper grade, performance versions are two-pedal because it is faster.”
But the door for a manual Z Nismo was never closed. It just didn’t launch with a manual, but customer feedback will dictate what the Z Nismo’s future will be. Hawson added:
“Because we’re so customer-oriented, if there’s a groundswell of ‘I’ve got to have this in manual,’ we can do it. It’s just, again, for the purity of the concept, it was about lap times.”
Well, for 2026, the Z Nismo is finally getting a six-speed manual, in direct response to customers who are craving driver engagement along with performance improvements from the standard Z.
It is still hooked up to a twin-turbo 3.0-liter V6 that produces 420 horsepower and 521 Nm of torque. Like the automatic Z Nismo, the manual version comes with the same larger Akebono brakes, stiffer suspension, limited-slip differential (LSD), and functional yet more handsome aero kit.
It is still unknown if Nissan made any changes to the six-speed manual, or if it’s coming to the Z Nismo unchanged from the standard Z. Though if the upgraded nine-speed automatic is any indicator, then this six-speed manual could also receive modifications to match the more powerful engine.
The Nissan Z Nismo has been confirmed to be sold in North America and Japan. A Philippine launch is still unknown at the moment, but here’s to hoping that Nissan Philippines, Inc., does sell the Z Nismo with a manual in the future.
Apart from the Z Nismo, Nissan is using the 2026 Tokyo Auto Salon to showcase a new Nismo concept, along with a sportier Leaf Autech and an X-Trail Rock Creek Multibed Wildplay concept. There’s also a restored first-generation Nissan March called “Matchy’s March”, along with a Motul Autech GT-R Super GT racecar.
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