280z/300zx

One thing to remember, which was brought up back in 2009, was that with the tighter suspension of the Nismo it's going to be much harder to launch. This was one of the reasons considered as to why despite more power it typically didn't pull better 0-60 or 1/4 mile times. I think a better test would be a 5-60 or a 50-80mph pull. Basically rolling tests. Car mags do these tests on some cars but not all; not sure why. Rolling runs are often a better example of a cars acceleration as it takes the launch out of the equation which has so many factors (driver skill, suspension, tires, track prep, etc.)

As for handling, yeah the Nismo has already been shown not to be all that much better. But lets not forget that the regular Z is not exactly crippled to begin with. The regular Z is a damn good handler in it's own right. Not really a whole lot to improve on unless you go crazy with suspension mods. The Nismo had to be a compremise between being better while still being comfortable enough that people would still want to buy it. Lets face it, the majority of sports car owners are hard core enough for the type of suspension that the Nismo should have had.

Lastly, everyone always brings up price between the two Z's, but if you are smart you can get a Nismo for nearly the same price as a touring/sport Z. I paid right under 35k for my touring sport 370z yellow 6-speed. Paid right over 35k for my Nismo with tint, door edging, window etching (aside from the tint I could care less but it was already on the car). I honestly went into the test drive not expecting a difference but was nicely surprised when it did accelerate faster. Even my girlfriend noticed the difference between the two cars, and at the time she was used to her C6 Vette.

All that being said had any dealer in the country had the exact set up I was looking for (blue touring sport 6-speed black interior) I would be driving that right now instead of the Nismo. The nismo is nice but I prefer the touring sport