The New Z Makes Me Scared For Nissan: Hold Fast
Nissan has been in dire financial straits for a minute. This despite pumping out some of its best cars for the first time in probably a couple of decades. With the GT-R finally retired to Mount Fuji, it’s left without a staple. At the same time, ordinary passenger vehicles continue to shine.
The Frontier gets yearly updates to keep up with the hot-selling Toyota Tacoma. The redesigned Sentra is fantastic despite an average powertrain. And finally, the Z may ride on a chassis derived from the Y2K era, but it too has morphed into a viable alternative to today’s crop of sports cars, including the Supra that will soon be phased out.
While Toyota puts it on ice, Nissan is going further. The Z gets meaningful changes for 2027, affecting both regular and NISMO variants. While the changes are mostly surface level, the Z suddenly morphs into one of the most beautiful cars you can buy today.
That’s on account of new rims and new Unryu Green paint that should be available stateside. Nissan pairs it well with a tasteful brown leather interior, also hopefully coming to North America.
On the NISMO end, the Z gains a manual transmission; previously only offered with the nine-speed automatic after outcry by fans. With it hopefully comes with a lower sticker than the high-sixties price it currently commands. In other words, Nissan is giving people what it asks for.
But is it enough? It’s not currently supported by an umbrella company like Chevrolet, which among others is backed by General Motors. It doesn’t quite have the flux of cash to dig itself out of the fiscal rut that it’s currently stuck in and has been for a while.
I just hope we’re not seeing the beginning of the end of Nissan, not when it’s pumping out its greatest crop of cars yet. This was part of the logic when I inducted the three models mentioned into the first Pick10 panel for 2026, because there’s value in keeping the company going.
Only time will tell. For now though, let’s just enjoy the ride the company can deliver.
–TA