There’s a little known fact about performance vehicles: Nearly all of them, from the most high-tech modern supercars to the oldest classic muscle, look better sideways. Whether they’re recovering from a slide on track or drifting through loose dirt, there’s something inherently cool about a car getting slideways.
Nissan, of course, knows this. The company has been a longtime participant in Formula Drift, sponsoring driver Chris Forsberg, and is well aware of how good the new Nissan Z looks with smoke pouring from its rear. So it’s no surprise that, when the company wanted to tease a higher-performance NISMO grade, it elected to do so in dramatic, smoky fashion.
Yes, there’s a Nissan Z NISMO in the works. After similar treatments were given to the GT-R and past Zs, there was never really a question whether the new car would get the same treatment. And it is, from what’s visible in the video, the same treatment — ground effects, new seats, tires and wheels; all of it with a heavy dash of red accents.
Beyond that, however, there’s little we know. Nissan promises more info “later this summer,” leaving us to simply speculate about what that information may be. Will the NISMO engineers throw a few more PSI of boost through the Z’s twin turbos? Aftermarket tuners that have taken that route have seen massive gains from the otherwise stock engine, claiming gains of up to 100 horsepower without changing a single component under the hood. That would certainly be a change to behold in a factory-backed NISMO trim.
Of course, given historical NISMO offerings, such a massive gain is unlikely. We may see a few extra horses, some slightly improved lap times, but Nissan is still bound by sound, emissions, and warranty restrictions — the company can’t put out a Z that’s tuned within an inch of its life. Whatever we do see for the Z, however, will likely be a blast to drive — or to slide.