Big news for Japanese icon

Nissan is giving petrol-heads what they want.

The Japanese brand will reveal an updated version of the Z Nismo sports car with a manual transmission at the coming 2026 Tokyo Auto Salon.

Read More About Nissan Z

• Watch out Toyota: New heroes incoming
• First look! Next-gen Honda Prelude's interior revealed but does it lack the sportiness of the Toyota 86 and Nissan Z?
• 'There's a lot of Silvia fans everywhere': Nissan product boss considering Silvia or 200SX revival as a sub-GT-R sports car to potentially rival the Toyota GR86 and Mazda MX-5 - report

Nissan hasn’t revealed any other details, but it is likely most mechanical elements from the auto Z Nismo will be carried over to the manual version.

This means at its heart is a 3.0-litre twin-turbo V6 petrol engine that makes 309kW and 520Nm, which is sent to the rear wheels only. That’s 11kW and 45Nm more than the standard Z.

 A limited-slip differential is standard, which improves the Z’s traction in all conditions.

The manual version will be in line to get Nismo tuned suspension and launch control mode, plus beefy brakes, a Nismo-branded steering wheel and Recaro seats wrapped in synthetic leather and suede.

The updated Z will get some styling tweaks, which Nissan said will make it more aerodynamic.

It is unknown whether Nissan Australia will bring the manual Z Nismo Down Under, but the brand globally has promised to greatly expand the Nismo brand.

Nissan confirmed earlier this month it would double the number of hot Nismo models from five to 10 in the near future.

This would give the carmaker a genuine alternative to the rapidly expanding Toyota GR range and Hyundai’s booming N Division.