NISMO Celebrates 40th Anniversary

Nissan’s tuning division, NISMO, turned 40th anniversary recently, providing four decades of driving excitement since September 17, 1984.

NISMO is a portmanteau of ‘Nissan’ and ‘Motorsport’, as you probably know/guessed, and was initially responsible for leading Nissan’s on-track programs. However, the racing DNA soon made its way into the first showroom product.

Four years after set-up, Nissan’s first dedicated race car debuted. Based around the Saurus roadster, it took part in a single-make series. However, 1989 was when things truly kicked off for NISMO, with the launch of the iconic Nissan Skyline R32 GT-R.

Well known in Australia as ‘Godzilla’ for dominating the racing championship, that also became the GT-R’s global calling card.

A Group A homologation version of the R32, badged NISMO, went on sale for enthusiasts. Its successor, the Skyline GT-R (R33), was the first production car to lap the Nordschleife in less than eight minutes.

A string of performance-enhanced road cars with the NISMO badge followed. Examples include the Juke NISMO, Patrol NISMO, Sentra NISMO, and its latest electrified offering, the Ariya NISMO.

Down under, NISMO first debuted in 2016 with the launch of the GT-R NISMO, followed by the 370Z NISMO in 2017, and the JUKE NISMO RS in 2018.

This year, NISMO launched the ultimate expression of Z – the Z NISMO (see NZ Autocar review here). Selling for $108,500 it built on the specification of the standard Z with enhancements that include:

• * Power increased to 309kW (+11kW) and 520Nm (+45Nm)
• * NISMO-tuned 9-speed automatic with paddle shifters
• * New NISMO styling – exterior and interior
• * Gloss black RAYS® 19-inch wheels (0.5″ wider Fr & Rr & lighter)
• * Enhanced Engine cooling
• * Bigger front brake rotors (+25mm)
• * NISMO aerodynamic enhancements
• * NISMO chassis, tyre and wheel enhancements 
• * NISMO Sport+ Driving Mode
• * NISMO-tuned Launch Control
• * NISMO-tuned Active Sound Control
• * NISMO branded RECARO® seats

Nissan Australia’s Marketing Director, Sriram Padmanabhan commented on the anniversary “From Godzilla to the Ariya, NISMO has never stopped evolving in its mission to deliver performance to the people. 

“The Z NISMO is yet another exciting chapter in NISMO’s incredible 40-year story.”