Despite rumors that Nissan was killing off the Z car altogether, September of 2020 brought with it the good news that was the Z proto – a nearly production-ready prototype that will retire the long-lived 370Z with a lot of retro-inspired goodness. The production version of the new Nissan Z will be revealed on August 17, 2021, and now a new report signs a faint glimmer of light on hope that the Nissan Z Nismo will be revealed not long after that. There’s only one problem – the source isn’t exactly the most reputable.

January of 2022, The Tokyo Auto Salon, and the Nissan Z Nismo

How long were you expecting it to take before Nissan pulled the wraps off of the next-gen Z Nismo? Two years…. Maybe three? Well, that’s what we were expecting too, but a new report from Japanese publication Best Car, claims that the Nissan Z Nismo will be revealed just five months after we see the production version of the new Z. According to that site, which doesn’t cite any specific source – anonymous or otherwise – Nissan will use the 2022 Tokyo Auto Salon to show off the new Z Nismo to the public for the first time. With this in mind, however, tread lightly on what you believe from this report because something smells a little fishy.

It’s pretty obvious that the 399-horsepower model would be the Z Nismo, which would mean that the base Nissan Z would deliver just 299 horsepower – and this is where things don’t make sense, as this would literally be a downgrade from the 370Z. As of now, the 370Z – in base form – makes 332 horsepower, which means the new Z would come at a deficit of 33 horsepower. We’re going the wrong way here. The Z Nismo, on the other hand, would see a somewhat impressive gain of 49 horsepower over the outgoing 370Z Nismo, but that would also leave a sizeable gap between the base model and the Nismo.

As the story goes, even the Z Nismo would be a gasoline-only engine, so previous rumors that the Nissan Z Nismo would be a mild-hybrid would be exposed as inaccurate. On that note, the engine displacement matches up with the all-but-confirmed word that the Z would have Infiniti’s 3.0-liter V-6 under the hood. And, with that in mind, it seems Best Car is just tooting a horn, because these figures mean that Nissan would take Infiniti’s engine and leave it untouched – the base Q60 makes 300 horsepower while the Q60 RedSport makes 400 horsepower. See, as I said, very fishy. }

But wait, there’s more to debunk this latest rumor. Back in March of 2021, a report on Nissan Z Club forums, quoting a company insider, claimed that the Nissan Z would start at $34,995 or $87 per horsepower. Do the math, and that comes to, precisely, 402.2413793103448 horsepower. Even the base model would be available with a $5,000 performance pack that would get the new Z up and ready for the track.

In the end, about the only thing credible about this report is the word that Nissan is also developing a Z GT4 that would take on cars like the Supra GT4 and would be a track-only vehicle. The outlet expected the price for that to fall close to the $200,000 range, which would make sense because that’s about what you’d pay for a Supra GT4. What do you think? Does Best Car have a real scoop or is it just hoping to draw some extra attention to itself? Personally, I think the Nissan Z and Z Nimso will be more powerful than the Q60, and I’m willing to bet that we won’t be seeing it as soon as January 2022. Let me know what you think in the comments below or slide over to our in-depth guide on the Nissan Z to learn everything you need to know about it!