Nissan Z NISMO rendered

The 2022 Nissan Z is hotter than the sun’s chromosphere right now, with the limited-edition Nissan Z Proto sold out in record time and a circa-six-month wait list for regular Z models.

Indeed, the hype surrounding the twin-turbo, retro-styled sports car is massive and it wouldn’t be unfair to suggest a hard-core Nissan Z NISMO would also be a sales slam dunk for the Japanese brand – even if the price soars beyond $100,000.

Nissan is yet to officially confirm the Nissan Z NISMO, but company executives speaking to carsales have refused to hose down speculation.

Nissan Australia’s managing director Adam Paterson wouldn’t directly comment on an upcoming NISMO-tuned Nissan Z, such as whether it would use electrification or bigger turbochargers to boost power.

“We always have special models or special editions and we’ve done that at launch with Z Proto,” he told carsales last month at the Nissan Z’s local reveal.

“Who knows what happens next?” he added, barely concealing his delight around the future expansion of the Nissan Z range and, tellingly, refusing to rule out a track-ready version of the Z.

Talented CGI artists such as Hycade have also put forward their visions as to how a Nissan Z NISMO could evolve, fuelling the fires of desire for what could be a 400kW-plus track-ready weapon.

Indeed, this latest take on the Nissan Z NISMO features the full box and dice, including a wide-body kit, mega power dome on the bonnet flanked by brake cooling vents and a neat application of the black and white NISMO colour scheme with subtle red pinstripes around the front splitter, side skirts and roof.

It also has a motorsport-inspired rear diffuser, a large rear wing and has been slammed pretty hard, giving it a head-turning, ground-hugging stance.

That’s the fantasy part.

The latest real-world intel we have on the Nissan Z NISMO suggests it’ll get the usual NISMO treatment, including more engine power, uprated suspension, a wider track and a rear wing, as seen on Nissan’s upcoming prototype Z race car spotted in Japan last month.

There could also be improved rigidity via extra body bracing, while race-inspired bucket seats are likely to make the cut along with tech tweaks that include new racing modes and the like.

The big talking point will be power output, and whether NISMO’s engineering team will boost turbo pressure via larger turbochargers and tweak the cylinder heads, or take things to a more complex place with a hybrid powertrain.

Back in 2020 Hiroshi Tamura, the chief product specialist for GT-R and NISMO models, all but confirmed a Nissan Z NISMO and said hybrid power could not be ruled out.

“This answer is why not … for me, if customers strongly request for the NISMO grade, why not?” he said.

“Everything must be considered. For e-POWER [hybrid] if customers strongly request it to me then why not? It depends on the customer voice.”

Nissan has been developing an electrified version of its 3.0-litre twin-turbo V6, originally for the Infiniti Q60 Project Black S prototype vehicle, which was pumping out 418kW at last count.