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Z1 600R: A 600-HP Tuner Z Done Right
As sports car sales dip and even heritage models like the Camaro fall out production, fewer and fewer two-door coupes remain. Nissan’s latest Z stands as one of the few two-seat sports cars left in showrooms that offers enthusiasts rear-wheel drive with a manual transmission. Nissan’s halo sports car, the GT-R, went out of production after the 2024 model year; it spent 17 years with all-wheel drive, no manual option, and a much higher price tag. Is there room in the market for a higher-priced, stick-shift Nissan sports car, with performance and exclusivity beyond the factory’s top-trim Z Nismo? Z1 Motorsports, a Nissan tuning specialist based out of Carrollton, Georgia, thinks so. We recently got to put a couple of hundred miles on the outfit’s newest offering, the 600R. It’s a powerful, well-considered package that amplifies the Z experience without going over the top.
Z1 assembles the 600R with a few understated carbon fiber bits for aesthetics, Recaro bucket seats to keep everyone planted, and a host of chassis upgrades: S-Pro Coilovers, adjustable toe arms, performance sway bars, rear camber/traction arms, front upper control arms, performance brakes, and a strut brace.
Then there’s the powertrain, the 600R’s namesake. While the factory Z twin-turbocharges VQ-series 3.0-liter V-6 to the tune of 400 horsepower (or 420 hp in the Nismo), Z1 boosts the 600R, appropriately, to 600 horsepower. To get those additional 200 ponies, Z1 fits the 600R with a pair of VRX70 turbochargers that bolt in place of the factory snails. There’s also a new blow-off valve, more powerful ignition coils, and a low-pressure fuel pump to keep up with the new demand for high-test. Z1 provides the tuning calibration using EcuTek software. All of the components are installed on customer-supplied cars at Z1’s facility in Georgia. The cost to equip the automatic-equipped Performance trim is $35,999.99, and the manual will set you back an additional $1,000 for the clutch and flywheel upgrade. The prices on the Sport trims are $4,000 higher as they require an upgraded differential as well. There are also optional parts packages available, including competition brakes, differential cooler, and differential brace; all were fitted on the 600R we drove outside Los Angeles, California.
Despite delivering more boost and airflow to create 50 percent more power, the new turbos and ECU tuning give the 600R a fantastic throttle response. We expected a bit of lag, but there is none. Even just off idle, the engine wants to go. (We had to learn to be gentle with our right foot. There were growing pains.) Peak output comes at the 3.0-liter V-6’s 6800-rpm redline and creeps past 600 hp a couple hundred rpm before that. Peak torque happens much earlier, at 4300 rpm, at which point the engine produces “more than” 550 lb-ft, according to Z1. With a powerband that wide, it’s easy to keep the 600R in a gear that delivers plenty of pull.
Z1’s 600R package includes a cat-back exhaust system with tips that fit nicely in the carbon-fiber rear valence overlay. We didn’t have a stock Z to which compare it back-to-back, but on a scale from rowdy to refined, the exhaust note is decidedly in the latter camp. Z1 calls it its “Touring” exhaust and that strikes us as a fitting name. We only found a few situations that resulted in exhaust drone—particularly around 2000 rpm, with light throttle and a bit of engine load. And because there’s so much power on the top end, we were short-shifting around town, leading to several instances of drone. At the same time. there’s plenty of torque for normal driving and it’s not necessary to wind the engine anywhere near its redline. (We did anyway, in the interest of thorough evaluation.)
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When you’ve got 600 responsive horsepower under the hood, a few of the stock Nissan Z’s minor flaws can be appreciated as features rather than bugs. For example, there’s not a lot of sound-damping material in the wheel wells. We chose to think of that as an audible indication of road surface conditions. Every time we heard the pinging drum roll of gravel being thrown up by the sticky Yokohama rubber we interpreted it as a warning not to get too cocky in the corners.
The Nissan Z’s cabin design is a throwback, but some have said it’s too close to the 370Z it replaces. (The cars still share a fundamental platform.) But we found the interior to be another of the car’s strong points. The center screen is large enough to be useful without taking over, and the HVAC controls use the tried-and-true three-dial layout that automakers so often try—and fail—to improve upon. Old is gold.
The dash screen is reconfigurable and has a large, prominent digital tach in performance mode. The driver can also choose to add the boost gauge to this digital display although it’s redundant as a boost gauge is one of the three gauges topping the dash that point toward the driver along with turbo speed and battery voltage. We found the interior to be cozy and the layout easy to understand, although there are some quirks. As we’ve noted in previous drives, visibility through the sloping rear glass is not great, and the rearview mirror offers more of a view of the cargo area than traffic. Even keeping in mind that this is a two-seat sports car, the cargo area is lackluster. (A Supra is more practical.) It’s just deep enough to lay a carry-on bag flat, although the strut towers encroach so much that you’ll likely be playing Tetris every time you head out for a road trip.
Specs: Z1 600R
- Price: $35,999.99-$40,999.99
- Powertrain: 3.0-liter twin-turbocharged V-6, six-speed manual
- Output: 600 hp; 550 lb-ft
- Layout: Front-engine, rear-wheel-drive, two-seat two-door coupe
- Competitors: Ford Mustang GT, BMW M4
The Recaro bucket seats, including 600R logos on the headrests, come with both drawbacks and advantages. They make ingress and egress just a bit more difficult, thanks to the high side cushions on the base and low position, and they do not include elevation adjustment. They do, however, provide plenty of lateral support without squeezing or confining too much. Our immediate reaction was to contrast them to the BMW M4 Competition’s (optional) factory seats we’d recently experienced. While those were cramped for even short trips, the 600R’s seats fit a wider range of occupants and are still suitable for extended driving sessions. Taller drivers looking to take their 600R to the track will need to pay attention to get the seat installed low enough to clear a helmet.
Our previous experiences driving factory Nissan Zs left us impressed with its plush and controlled ride that nevertheless offers more pitch and roll than we’d expect for a performance car. Z1 firmed things up noticeably and yet the ride isn’t too harsh. Again, we’re reminded of the Carbahn-modified M4 that we tested late last year, which we also praised for its great balance of ride and handling. With the wide and sticky Yokohamas, the limit for grip is tremendous—more than enough to feel confident on any kind of curvy backroad in tandem with improved brakes.
Tuner interpretations of beloved sports cars are hardly a new phenomenon, but we’re happy to see the tradition continue. That Z1’s engineering and execution are so well done serves to give Nissan and tuner fans more interesting avenues to make the latest Z their own.
2025 Nissan Z (Z1 600R)
Highs: Firmed-up handling is an improvement, at least on well-manicured roads. A turn-key package that’s powerful and looks great without overshadowing the clean lines of the standard Z.
Lows: Seats might not work for taller drivers, particularly on track days. Rear visibility remains sub-par.
Takeaway: The Z1 600R package seems to be assembled with complementary parts that elevate the Z experience without going over the top.
Man I really really wanted to like the new Z at least for it being a new Z sports car just for the sake of it however it’s such an underwhelming car $40k is okay for the base Sport model without the LSD then for the Performance model it’s like $50k which isn’t any better value than the Mustang, Supra, and even M2 and it even gets walked by those cars yes I get that it’s inflation and all that however this car isn’t really worth it especially when you have other coupes on the market for about the same or less the same money and can give a more inspiring experience
Now this Z1 model still shows that the new Z does have a lot of aftermarket support and tuning potential and it looks pretty dang good plus with many brand new Zs on the market with $5k to $10k off MSRP makes it very appealing then again for a car that is on the same platform for over 20+ years with parts that are 15+ years old not sure if I can get behind that
I like what they have done, it looks good. It is probably a very fun car to drive. Adding 50%+ to the price of the vehicle is going to turn off some people given the car’s starting price.
I looked at getting a 400 Z and liked the car even with its’ limited views out back and limited luggage capacity. What I didn’t like was the big jump to the at the time, top of the line model, the 15 month wait to get a test drive in one with a manual transmission and the quoted 15-18 month wait to order one and have it delivered. Since I already have a 2015 Mustang GT Premium with manual transmission I ended up getting a Subaru BRZ to fill out the motoring moods. So much fun and better value for the money spent. The other concern with the 400Z is how long is Nissan actually going to be a solvent company?
It’s just Z, not 400z