We've been tracking Nissan's mid-cycle refresh for the Z sports car, and the headline change is one enthusiasts have wanted since the NISMO grade arrived automatic-only: a six-speed manual transmission, now confirmed by Nissan for the U.S.-market 2027 Z NISMO. On the Japan side, where the car sells as the Fairlady Z, Nissan's own teaser site confirms only a summer 2026 debut — everything more specific about that launch, from on-sale date to pricing to grade names, is still coming from Japanese media rather than the automaker itself.
What Nissan Has Confirmed
Nissan's official U.S. press kit, published March 23, 2026, lays out the substance of the update. The manual is a first for the NISMO trim, which had been automatic-only until now. The gearbox pairs a shorter shift-lever throw with an EXEDY high-performance clutch and a clutch-type mechanical limited-slip differential, and Nissan retuned the twin-turbo 3.0-liter V6's throttle and ignition timing specifically for manual-equipped cars, aiming for sharper response and more sustained torque delivery. The car's Active Sound Enhancement and Active Noise Cancellation systems were retuned to match. NISMO also picks up GT-R-derived two-piece iron-aluminum front brake rotors — Nissan says they save 19 pounds — with the suspension and electric power steering retuned to match the reduced front-end weight. Nissan lists 420 horsepower for the NISMO grade.
On the outside, the Z Sport and Performance grades get a restyled front bumper and grille that Nissan itself describes only as "inspired by classic Nissan sports cars," with a body-color bar splitting the grille opening and a new "Z" badge replacing the Nissan logo on the nose. Japanese outlets, including Kuruma-News and Creative Trend, have taken to calling this new nose a revival of the "G-nose" — the aerodynamic front-end treatment tied to the 240ZG, a model that's been out of production for roughly 53 years. That's a nickname from the Japanese car press, not language we found in Nissan's own U.S. press kit or on Nissan's Japanese teaser site for the car — worth knowing if you see it presented as Nissan's own branding. There's also a new paint color, called Shinkai Green Pearl Metallic in the U.S. and "雲龍グリーン" (Unryu Green) on Nissan's Japanese teaser site — the same shade under different market names, which Nissan says was inspired by the green seen on the original S30-generation Z, paired exclusively with a black roof.
For the U.S. market, pricing is officially confirmed too: the 2027 Z starts at $44,480 before a $1,245 destination charge, the Z NISMO starts at $67,260, and there's no price premium for choosing the manual over the nine-speed automatic.
What's Still Unconfirmed for Japan
Nissan's own Japan teaser microsite confirms only that the refreshed Z is a "2026 Summer Debut" — it gives no specific on-sale date and no Japanese pricing. Multiple Japanese outlets, including Creative Trend, Kuruma-News, and car-repo.jp, report a Japan on-sale date of August 27, 2026, with pricing spanning roughly ¥5,737,600 to ¥9,752,600 depending on grade. Nissan Japan has not yet published an official release confirming those figures, so we're flagging the date and pricing as media-reported rather than Nissan-confirmed.
For enthusiasts outside Japan, the manual NISMO is the most significant confirmed change so far — a transmission option people have been asking for since the NISMO grade launched automatic-only, on a car that already sits high on export and collector wish lists. Whether the Japan-market Fairlady Z gets the same manual NISMO configuration is still an open question; we'll follow up with the confirmed Japan on-sale date, pricing, and specs once Nissan's own newsroom publishes them.