(NMC) will bring several upcoming vehicles and a concept which it has teased ahead of the next month's show. One of those upcoming vehicles, the 2026 Nissan Z Nismo, is one of the most highly-demanded products from the enthusiast community because it will finally offer a manual transmission.
Nissan confirmed earlier this year that the Z Nismo would add a manual transmission option, following a swell of requests from customers. We haven't seen any official announcements since the Nissan Americas chairman broke that news... until now.
The Nismo Z Manual Is Real
We can finally put all the speculation to rest because the Z Nismo manual transmission is real, and there are official photos to prove it. Nissan shared an exterior photo of the 2026 Fairlady Z Nismo (the name of the Z Nismo in Japan), which gets some minor design changes aimed at improving aerodynamic performance. Just like the automatic car, the Nismo uses a 3.0-liter twin-turbocharged V6 that develops 420 horsepower and 384 lb-ft of torque compared to the stock Z's 400 hp and 350 lb-ft.
The interior looks exactly the same as the automatic Z Nismo, aside from the manual lever in the middle. We hoped Nissan might give the Nismo a different shift knob than the standard Z, but it uses the same one. This is not the US-spec car, so there is still a small chance our market gets a Nismo-specific handle. For $65,750, we hope Nissan includes a unique knob for the manual, considering it costs $12,780 more than the Z Performance.
Other Cool Stuff Coming
Besides the Z Nismo, Nissan is showing off some other exciting vehicles that should make enthusiasts happy. Sadly, none of them are slated for sale in the US. A teaser image shows what looks like a highly aggressive concept vehicle, which we believe is based on the Japanese-market Note Aura hatchback. It appears to have a massive widebody kit, meaning this could be one of Nissan's hottest hot hatchbacks of all time. More details will be revealed at a Nissan press conference on January 9.
The Nissan Leaf Autech will also be on display, showing off a sporty and luxurious version of the company's newest affordable EV. Nissan does not sell Autech vehicles stateside, so this model should remain forbidden fruit. The US does not receive the X‑Trail Rock Creek Multibed Wildplay, either. But our Rogue Rock Creek, which is actually pretty decent off-road, is essentially the same vehicle.
A Performance Revolution
The official teasers come amid news that Nissan wants to reignite excitement in buyers by making a strong push in the performance realm. The company wants to expand its Nismo-tuned offerings, something which this teaser certainly reinforces. There's also the company's luxury brand, Infiniti, which showed a bonkers GT-R-Powered QX80 at SEMA and has pledged to create a new luxury performance brand to rival the likes of Mercedes-AMG and BMW M.
The big question is whether Nissan can actually pull all this off. The automaker teetered on the brink of a merger with Honda, then went on a massive cutting spree to reduce costs under the guidance of a new CEO. Things are looking better for Nissan now than they were last year, but going fast costs money. Whether Nissan can afford its performance aspirations remains to be seen.
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