Nissan 370Z Nismo adds some harder-core appeal, but it feels like too little too late for Nissan’s street-fighting Z
The Nissan 370Z Nismo is not, as its makers would like you to believe, an entirely new addition to Nismo’s portfolio. It has existed in the USA since the regular 370Z was introduced back in 2009, and that's despite its coupé and manual-only specification. As with the standard manuals, the Nismo features rev-shift, Nissan’s heel-and-toe aping system for those bereft of deft enough feet to do it themselves. If you’re one of them it’ll help smooth the Z’s downshifts, which can be clumsy anyway thanks to the rather weighty springing of the gearshift itself.That’s always been part of the 370Z’s appeal, though, it feeling rather old-school and demanding in this all to easy new-school world. Nismo’s new target customers might come from gaming, but the Z’s definitely not an uninvolving or digital experience. That said, its extra 16bhp over the standard Z comes courtesy of some cheat codes in the ECU. The only physical change, meanwhile, is a freer-breathing sports exhaust. Those two pipes get a 10mm increase in diameter but still aren’t intense enough to drown out the engine’s dominant, and not always welcome, sound in the cabin. That interior gets a sizeable shot of equipment. Sat-nav and a reversing camera are included in the no-options Nismo, and its status as the sporting flagship inside is highlighted, in red, with Nismo badges. Leather and Alcantara is also liberally smattered around the tough, if not exactly tactile, interior. There’s a numbered plaque, too, if such things matter to you. Outside, that red highlighting theme continues. The Nismo wears a bodykit which aids the 370Z’s high speed stability by smoothing airflow around and underneath its body. It is difficult to miss, adding a big boot-mounted spoiler and some width to cover those wider rear wheels – the rears are half an inch wider – while a protruding front splitter and rear diffuser add 150mm to the Nismo’s length.
Nissan 370Z Nismo adds some harder-core appeal, but it feels like too little too late for Nissan’s street-fighting Z
The Nissan 370Z Nismo is not, as its makers would like you to believe, an entirely new addition to Nismo’s portfolio. It has existed in the USA since the regular 370Z was introduced back in 2009, and that's despite its coupé and manual-only specification. As with the standard manuals, the Nismo features rev-shift, Nissan’s heel-and-toe aping system for those bereft of deft enough feet to do it themselves. If you’re one of them it’ll help smooth the Z’s downshifts, which can be clumsy anyway thanks to the rather weighty springing of the gearshift itself.That’s always been part of the 370Z’s appeal, though, it feeling rather old-school and demanding in this all to easy new-school world. Nismo’s new target customers might come from gaming, but the Z’s definitely not an uninvolving or digital experience. That said, its extra 16bhp over the standard Z comes courtesy of some cheat codes in the ECU. The only physical change, meanwhile, is a freer-breathing sports exhaust. Those two pipes get a 10mm increase in diameter but still aren’t intense enough to drown out the engine’s dominant, and not always welcome, sound in the cabin. That interior gets a sizeable shot of equipment. Sat-nav and a reversing camera are included in the no-options Nismo, and its status as the sporting flagship inside is highlighted, in red, with Nismo badges. Leather and Alcantara is also liberally smattered around the tough, if not exactly tactile, interior. There’s a numbered plaque, too, if such things matter to you. Outside, that red highlighting theme continues. The Nismo wears a bodykit which aids the 370Z’s high speed stability by smoothing airflow around and underneath its body. It is difficult to miss, adding a big boot-mounted spoiler and some width to cover those wider rear wheels – the rears are half an inch wider – while a protruding front splitter and rear diffuser add 150mm to the Nismo’s length.