Nissan: Z GT500 Changes “Achieved What We Hoped To”

Nissan has stated it has met its performance targets with its off-season revisions to its Z NISMO GT500 challenger ahead of the new SUPER GT season.

The Z NISMO is going into its third season of competition in the Japanese series, with three examples of the revised car on the grid this year following Nissan downscaling from its previous four-car attack due to financial constraints.

It comes after a difficult 2025 season for the marque in which its highest-scoring entry, the No. 23 NISMO car shared by Katsumasa Chiyo and Mitsunori Takaboshi, finished only seventh overall with a single victory at Suzuka.

Nissan’s SUPER GT executive director Shinichi Kiga said both changes made to the Z’s aero package ahead of the looming four-year aero freeze and the engine, in light of the new rules allowing only a single unit per year, have so far had the desired impact.

But he also cautioned that the marque still has to “close the gap” to Toyota, which has been the manufacturer to beat for most of winter testing.

“On the aero, we made changes to the flicks and the lateral ducts to try and achieve a more optimal balance between front and rear downforce,” Kiga told Sportscar365. “We aimed to improve the overall downforce level as well as the balance.

“We achieved what we hoped to with those changes, both in terms of performance and easiness to drive. The aero package is basically decided now, so we are at the stage of adjusting the set-up to make it as easy to drive as possible.

“In terms of the engine, we have the E10 fuel and the tighter [fuel] restrictor, so we have had to update the spec to adapt to these changes. Again, we reached the performance level we hoped for and the drivers’ feedback has also been good. 

“I would say we have reached the level we wanted in terms of performance, but there are a lot of fast cars. So now it’s a matter of analyzing how we can close that gap and make sure we’re ready in time for the season opener.”

Kiga said he was encouraged that all three Nissan teams have been closely matched to each other so far, with just a tenth of a second splitting all three Z’s at the most recent official test at Fuji Speedway earlier this month.

“The times of all three cars in testing have been extremely close, so it feels like they are all doing a good job at getting the most out of the car,” said Kiga.

“The fact there are fewer cars than last year and everyone is on the same tires means we can share data more and give each other feedback about various aspects. In that sense, the collaboration across the teams has become stronger.

“Of course, it’s never a good thing to have fewer cars, but it has made me think that having only three cars isn’t so bad. There are some positives to it.”

NISMO driver Mitsunori Takaboshi ended the Fuji test with the fastest time among the Nissan contingent in seventh, 0.574 seconds behind the TOM’S Toyota of Sho Tsuboi.

Takaboshi’s co-driver Chiyo believes that the changes made to the Z NISMO for 2026 should come as a boost to the marque’s competitiveness at a wider range of tracks, after the No. 23 crew struggled in the opening part of the season last year.

“Last year, we had our good and bad tracks, and it was a car with a narrow sweet spot,” Chiyo said. “Now we have been able to widen that sweet spot and increase the downforce so that we can fight more in all conditions and at any circuit.

“I think we have been able to move towards that direction. We’ve been trying a lot of things across all three cars to find the best set-up, and we have made a lot of progress in that area as well.

“I know some fans may be upset that we have fewer cars this year, but we want to make up for that with our results.”

Asked for his views on Nissan’s performance level in relation to Toyota and Honda, Chiyo replied: “The cars that were still fast before still seem to be fast now. The competitive order hasn’t changed dramatically. 

“Of course, we want to be part of the title battle this year, and we have to be. But it’s an exceptionally difficult series to win and I don’t want to be overly optimistic about it.”

The No. 23 Nissan is set to be one of three cars in action for this week’s final two-day makers’ test at Fuji on Tuesday and Wednesday, together with the No. 8 ARTA Honda HRC Prelude-GT and the No. 99 Honda test car.