Nissan has put the twin-turbo V6 from today’s Z into an original Datsun S30, and the car is going to the SEMA Show in Las Vegas. Formula Drift champion Chris Forsberg’s team built it. It has a six-speed manual and carbon fibre body panels.
The restomod is one of three concepts Nissan announced on 28 October. The other two are a Z race car built by Nissan employees for SCCA racing and a Sentra Spec-V with 300 hp and a manual gearbox. All three will be on Nissan’s stand from 3 to 6 November.
Quick facts
- Datsun S30 Concept: original S30 Z body, twin-turbo 3.0-litre V6 (VR30DDTT) from the current Z, six-speed manual, built by Chris Forsberg’s team
- Paint: Seiran Blue, a colour Nissan also sells on the new Z
- Project NAT2 Z: a current Z built to SCCA Touring 2 rules by the Nissan Acceleration Team
- Sentra Spec-V Concept: turbocharged 2.0-litre, 300 hp, six-speed manual from the Juke NISMO RS
- Show: SEMA, Las Vegas Convention Center, Central Hall, booth 21521, 3 to 6 November 2026
- For sale: no, all three are one-off concepts
A 1970s Z with the new car’s engine
The S30 started the Z story in 1969. Japan got it as the Nissan Fairlady Z, and America got it as the Datsun 240Z. Nissan’s concept keeps that long-nose shape and puts the drivetrain of the current Z under it.
Carscoops and TopSpeed both report that the V6 runs Garrett turbochargers and drives through the Z’s six-speed manual and a NISMO limited-slip differential. Nissan says the engine also has NISMO parts, but it hasn’t given a power figure, so we don’t print one.
The front fenders and bumpers are carbon fibre, and TopSpeed says the bonnet and hatch are carbon too. Inside there are OMP racing seats and a Grip Royal steering wheel. Wilwood brakes sit at all four corners, with six-piston calipers at the front and four-piston calipers at the rear, and the suspension comes from Techno Toy Tuning.
Japanese Nostalgic Car (JNC) notes that this isn’t Forsberg’s first Z. The paint is Seiran Blue, the same colour as the 2023 Z in photo 2 of our gallery. Photo 1 shows a standard S30 for comparison, not the concept.
A race Z built by Nissan staff
Project NAT2 comes from the Nissan Acceleration Team, a volunteer group of Nissan employees who race in their free time. They built a current Z to the rules of the SCCA’s Touring 2 class.
The V6 runs 38 mm turbo inlet restrictors to meet the class rules. It also gets a NISMO exhaust and a custom tune. The cabin is stripped and has a roll cage and a Sabelt racing seat. NISMO coilovers and sway bars do the suspension work.
JNC reports that NISMO’s design team in Japan drew the livery. The look comes from SCCA and IMSA race Zs of the late 1970s. Photo 3 shows a Z NISMO GT4 from Japan’s Super Taikyu series in 2024, so you can see what a racing Z looks like today. It isn’t the NAT2 car.
The Sentra Spec-V is back, as a concept
The third car is the one tuner fans will argue about. Nissan built a Sentra Spec-V concept with a turbocharged 2.0-litre engine making 300 hp, and a six-speed manual taken from the Juke NISMO RS. JNC and TopSpeed both mention a helical limited-slip differential.
The Brembo brakes and the Recaro front seats come from the GT-R, and the rear spoiler is a GT-R NISMO part. It sits on 19-inch NISMO LM-RS1 forged wheels and wears a BOMEX wide-body kit.
Nissan says the concept marks 35 years since the Sentra SE-R arrived in North America. That first SE-R, a B13 like the coupe in photo 4, used the 2.0-litre SR20DE. It’s from the same SR20 family as the turbo engines in the Silvia and the Pulsar GTI-R. JNC adds that the Spec V name itself first appeared on the 2002 Sentra SE-R Spec V.
Will any of it reach the showroom?
Nissan says none of the three cars is for sale. It also says ideas from past SEMA builds have reached production, and it says its Rock Creek models came from earlier SEMA concepts. Some of the NISMO and Nissan accessory parts on the cars can be bought from dealers.
The Z Kaze, a custom open-top Z that Nissan showed at ZCON in September, will be on the stand too. Nissan says it will give more details on its SEMA truck and SUV concepts later.
Our take
This is our opinion. The S30 is the best of the three. A light 1970s body with a modern twin-turbo V6 and three pedals is the kind of swap tuners dream about, and it’s good to see Nissan do one itself with a drift champion. The race Z is a nice story too, because Nissan employees built it in their spare time.
The bad side is that none of these cars will be sold, and Nissan gave no power figure for the S30. The Sentra Spec-V shows Nissan knows what fans want, but a concept doesn’t put a fast manual saloon back in the showroom. If Nissan wants to prove it still cares about small performance cars, it has to build one.
Your turn
Which one would you take home: the twin-turbo S30, the SCCA race Z or the 300 hp Sentra Spec-V? Tell us in the comments.
Sources: Nissan (official release, 28 Oct 2026), Carscoops (28 Oct 2026), TopSpeed (28 Oct 2026), Japanese Nostalgic Car (28 Oct 2026), Nissan (Z Kaze release, 23 Sep 2026).
Photos: Dllu (photo 1, CC BY-SA 4.0), Mr.choppers (photo 2, CC BY-SA 3.0), Tokumeigakarinoaoshima (photo 3, CC BY-SA 4.0) and IFCAR (photo 4, public domain), via Wikimedia Commons. Photo 1 shows a standard Datsun S30 Z, photo 2 a 2023 Nissan Z in Seiran Blue at the 2022 New York show, photo 3 a Z NISMO GT4 at Suzuka in 2024, photo 4 a 1991-1994 Sentra SE-R coupe. None of them shows the SEMA concepts; Nissan’s official photos are in the Nissan release linked above.
