Page 87 - Sharp September 2024

DARK HORSE
THE NISSAN Z NISMO IS HERE TO CHALLENGE THE SPORTS CAR ESTABLISHMENT
By Matt Bubbers
A MONG TRACK RATS AND INVETERATE GEARHEADS, THE name NISMO carries weight. Those who know, know. And so, the fact the Japanese brand is back with a hardcore new Z car ready to take on the establishment has got that particular group
of drivers hyped.
For everyone else, we should explain that Nissan Motorsports International Co., aka NISMO, has been slaying giants on racetracks around the world for 40 years. Their machinery has gone wheel to wheel against the likes of Porsche, BMW, Ferrari, McLaren, and Mercedes-AMG in the top class at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, tackled the deadly Paris-Dakar rally, and dominated touring car racing through much of the ’90s.
While initially founded in 1984 to bring Nissan’s factory and privateer racing efforts under one corporate umbrella, NISMO soon began applying its motorsport expertise to a select few of Nissan’s roadgoing sports cars. Almost everything with a NISMO badge is now a highly sought-after collectable.
Now that we’re all on the same page about NISMO, we can slide into the deeply bolstered Recaro bucket seats of the company’s new 2024 Nissan Z NISMO. It takes what is an enjoyable sports car — the Nissan Z — and turns up the heat. The racing experts tweaked the 3.0-litre twin-turbo V6 to produce 420 horsepower and 384 lb-ft of torque, an additional 20 hp and 34 lb-ft over the standard Z.
The compromise? The price has jumped up to $75,998 and the NISMO is (sadly) only available with an automatic gearbox and not the six-speed manual of the standard Z.
Yet all those concerns fade once you step on the throttle. There’s a moment of suspense as the pressure inside the turbochargers builds and then a mighty wallop as the boost hits and the NISMO slingshots towards the horizon much faster than you expect. Even the sticky Dunlop SP Sport Maxx GT600 tires — wrapped around a set of lightweight 19-inch Rays wheels — squirm and squeal under full power. With stiffer suspension, a reinforced chassis, and a perfectly weighty steering wheel, the NISMO feels playful without being edgy. It wants you to drive hard, but it won’t bite if you make a mistake. There’s a lovely balance and rightness to the chassis, which shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone familiar with the firm’s previous work. And like its predecessors, the newest NISMO is ready to slay giants on racetracks the world over.
SPECS:
ENGINE: 3.0-LITRE TWIN-TURBO V6 POWER: 420 HP
PRICE: $75,998
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