2027 Nissan Z Priced From $44,480 as NISMO Gets a Manual Gearbox

Nissan is holding the 2027 Z’s starting price at $44,480 while finally giving buyers something they have wanted for years: a manual gearbox on the range-topping NISMO. The sports car reaches dealerships this summer with a six-speed stick shift option, brakes borrowed from the Nissan GT-R, and a heritage-inspired refresh across the Sport and Performance grades.

Every 2027 Z carries a $1,245 destination charge on top of its listed price, and buyers pay the same amount whether they pick the manual or the nine-speed automatic. Nissan built the stick shift into the price rather than charging extra for it, a detail worth knowing for anyone cross-shopping transmissions before they walk into a dealership.

A Manual Gearbox and GT-R Brakes Arrive for NISMO

Nissan built the six-speed manual specifically for the Z NISMO, pairing it with a short shifter and an upgraded clutch tuned around the car’s track-focused chassis. Both the manual and the nine-speed automatic start at $67,260, so drivers choose based on preference rather than price.

The gearbox arrives alongside a second change to every 2027 Z NISMO: new two-piece, iron-aluminum brake rotors lifted from the GT-R. The rotors cut 19 pounds of unsprung mass compared to the outgoing setup, and their cooling channels hold temperatures down through repeated hard stops on track. Nissan also fitted larger-diameter shock absorbers to the Z Performance grade this year, aimed at sharper stability and damping through corners.

Power carries over unchanged. The Z Sport and Performance grades run a twin-turbocharged 3.0-liter V6 rated at 400 horsepower and 350 lb-ft of torque, while the NISMO’s tuned version of the same engine produces 420 horsepower and 384 lb-ft. Nissan quotes a 0-60 mph time of roughly 3.9 seconds for the NISMO with either transmission, a figure that puts it ahead of most rivals in this price range regardless of gearbox choice.

Nissan has offered a manual gearbox on the Z from the start of the current generation, but NISMO buyers were stuck with the automatic until now. The addition closes that gap and lines up the entire range, from base Sport to track-focused NISMO, behind the same choice: shift for yourself or let the nine-speed do it.

A Heritage-Inspired Refresh for Sport and Performance

The 2027 update reaches beyond NISMO. Sport and Performance grades pick up design cues pulled from Nissan’s earlier sports cars: a body-color bar across the grille opening and a new “Z” badge on the nose in place of the Nissan logo. Performance trim adds forged 19-inch wheels with black spokes and a machined-finish rim.

Nissan also added a new paint option across the lineup: Shinkai Green Pearl Metallic, a color pulled from the original S30-generation Z of the early 1970s. Performance buyers can now pair that green (or any other exterior color) with a tan interior, a combination Nissan says customers requested directly. Every 2027 Z gets a redesigned fuel tank meant to keep fuel delivery steady under sustained cornering loads, a change that only shows up on a track day but signals how much engineering attention a six-year-old platform still gets.

Where the Z Sits Against Rivals

At $44,480, the Z Sport undercuts the six-cylinder Toyota GR Supra, which starts near $59,495, by roughly $15,000. It also sits below a well-equipped Ford Mustang GT, which starts around $46,885. Nissan’s twin-turbo V6 outguns the Mustang GT’s naturally aspirated V8 on torque and matches it closely on horsepower, while offering a manual gearbox at every trim level, including the flagship NISMO.

The manual gearbox sets the Z apart from another direct rival, too. The BMW M240i xDrive starts at $55,600 and comes exclusively with an eight-speed automatic; BMW dropped the manual option from that model entirely. Buyers who want three pedals in a turbocharged six-cylinder coupe now have far fewer places to look, and Nissan just expanded its own lineup rather than shrinking it.

That positioning gives the Z a rare spot in the market: a turbocharged six-cylinder sports car with a manual option at both ends of its price range, priced below rivals that either drop the manual entirely or charge a premium for one. Buyers cross-shopping this segment on transmission choice alone will find the field has narrowed considerably over the past few years, which makes the NISMO’s new six-speed a bigger deal than a simple options-list addition.

2027 Nissan Z Pricing By Trim

Full MSRP for the 2027 Nissan Z lineup, before the $1,245 destination charge:

• Z Sport, 9-speed automatic: $44,480
• Z Sport, 6-speed manual: $44,480
• Z Performance, 9-speed automatic: $54,480
• Z Performance, 6-speed manual: $54,480
• Z NISMO, 9-speed automatic: $67,260
• Z NISMO, 6-speed manual: $67,260

Shoppers can order any grade with either transmission at no cost difference, so the choice comes down to how a driver wants to spend time behind the wheel rather than how much they want to spend buying it. Nissan has not announced changes to the standard warranty coverage that carries over from the outgoing model year.

The 2027 Nissan Z reaches dealerships this summer, with the Shinkai Green Pearl Metallic paint and tan interior combination expected to be a popular order for buyers chasing the car’s 300ZX-era styling cues.