The new Nissan Z has a lot going for it, including an available manual transmission. But due to the chip shortage limiting production, absurd dealer markups, and high demand for the few cars that are available, sales have been shockingly low. But Nissan appears to be betting on the supply issue working itself out and solving the other problems in the process, so it’s already announced the upcoming high-performance Nissan Z Nismo. That’s great news, but when it eventually arrives, it may only be available with an automatic transmission.
Autoblog reports that a dealer order guide allegedly leaked on the New Nissan Z fan forum. While it lists lower-trim Zs with the choice of an automatic or manual transmission, there is no manual option listed for the Nismo. Only an automatic. The supposed leaked order guide has not been confirmed to be legitimate, so it could very easily have been doctored or could be an early draft. Heck, it could be an intentional leak from Nissan to get us even more excited when they announce that the new Z Nismo will offer a three-pedal option.
But we’re leaning towards believing that it’s real, and the Z Nismo will be automatic only. That’s just the way things are going these days. Even BMW’s M division is going all-in on torque converter automatics. To be fair to modern high-performance automatic transmissions, they’re so much better than they used to be, they’re probably the better choice for a car that’s unlikely to see significant track time anyway, compared to a dual-clutch transmission. And yet, we still can’t help loving a good old-fashioned manual. They may not post the kind of performance figures that a good auto or DCT could, but they’re just more engaging to drive. And isn’t that what you want in a sports car?