Not a Joke: Nissan 400Z Will Have a Manual Transmission

Nissan just cranked up excitement another notch by revealing that the 400Z could have a manual transmission in a teaser video.

Nissan is clearly enjoying letting little teasers about the upcoming 2022 model year 400Z. Recently, Nissan teased us with the signature LED lighting and the V6 engine’s sound in the new Z car. Now, Nissan has dropped an indication that the new sports car will have a manual transmission. It’s a blink and you’ll miss it moment, but at the sixteen-second mark in the new video, we see the driver’s hand drop to the gearshift as you would for a manual transmission.

Of course, this isn’t a definitive confirmation as we don’t actually see the shifter. However, when we add up all the information we have and understand that Nissan knows enthusiasts will demand a stick shift version, we would happily bet that’s the tease. If not, Nissan is shooting itself in the foot by raising expectations.

The teaser also shows the shifter on the driver’s left, meaning it’s right-hand drive. We’ve already seen that the biggest market for the reborn Toyota Supra is the U.S market, so it would make sense for Nissan to focus its efforts here. As the Nissan 400Z will go head to head with the Supra, offering a manual transmission where Toyota doesn’t would give the 400Z an added injection of enthusiast credibility.

The all-new 400Z is expected to have the 3.0-liter turbocharged V6 under the hood from the Infiniti Q50 and Q60. The VR30DDTT comes in a couple of guises, though. The lower power version makes 300 hp, but we expect to see the 400Z utilize the Red Sport version making 400 hp. However, both versions only come with a 7-Speed automatic transmission, so Nissan would need a new manual transmission for the 400Z.

Nissan will be revealing a “Z-Proto” on September 15 in the U.S and September 16 in Europe. We’ll be tuning in at 19:30 CDT here in the U.S in the hope of substantial details.

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Ian Wright

Ian Wright has been a professional writer for two years and is a regular contributor to Corvette Forum, Jaguar Forum, and 6SpeedOnline, among other auto sites.

His obsession with cars started young and has left him stranded miles off-road in Land Rovers, being lost far from home in hot hatches, going sideways in rallycross cars, being propelled forward in supercars and, more sensibly, standing in fields staring at classic cars. His first job was as a mechanic and then trained as a driving instructor before going into media production.

The automotive itch never left though, and he realized writing about cars is his true calling. However, that doesn’t stop him from also hosting the Both Hand Drive podcast.

Ian can be reached at bothhanddrive@gmail.com