Enlarge / The Nismo version of the Nissan Z has a raft of mechanical changes, but the first thing you notice is a less-objectionable front fascia. (credit: Bradley Iger)
In the world of high-performance Nissan cars, the Nismo badge carries weight. Like BMW M and Toyota's Gazoo Racing arm, it oversees Nissan's motorsports efforts and serves as its in-house tuning department for the automaker's most performance-focused road car offerings. Founded in 1984, the skunkworks division has a reputation for building formidable track weapons like the GT-R Nismo, which set a lap record for volume production road cars at the famed Nürburgring back in 2013.
While the department has been relatively quiet lately (likely due to the limited number of enthusiast models that have graced Nissan's line-up in recent years), we knew it was only a matter of time before we'd see its handiwork applied to the new Z.
As we noted in our first drive of the standard Z last year, the seventh-generation machine ushered in a much-needed overhaul of Nissan's rear-drive sports car that addressed many of its predecessor's shortcomings, but a few laps of Las Vegas Motor Speedway's road course revealed that there was still room for improvement in terms of outright performance prowess.
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