Drag Race! BMW M2 vs. Nissan Z Nismo — Which Pumped-Up Coupe Takes the Win?

Six-cylinder rear-wheel-drive sport coupes duke it out on our U-Drags track

Edmunds U-Drags: Nissan Z Nismo vs. BMW M2

written by Nick Yekikian^{Senior News Editor
Nick Yekikian has worked in the automotive industry since 2019. He has written close to a thousand car-related articles and tested and reviewed more than 200 vehicles over the course of his career. Nick is the Senior News Editor at Edmunds and has also contributed to MotorTrend, Automobile Magazine and Super Street. When Nick isn't zipping around town in his latest used-car find, he's probably making digital art in Photoshop or playing disc golf with friends.}
edited by Kathleen Clonts^{Copy Chief
Kathleen Clonts has worked in the automotive industry since 2014 and has copy-edited thousands of vehicle reviews and stories about cars and the auto industry in that time. Kathleen is the Edmunds editorial team's copy chief and previously worked as the senior copy editor for Automobile magazine.}
5/10/2024
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The BMW M2 and Nissan Z Nismo are pretty closely aligned.
They both have rear-wheel-drive layouts and six-cylinder engines and cost roughly the same.
Which wins on our U-Drags circuit? Watch the video to find out.

The Nissan Z Nismo might not be the first car that comes to mind when you're thinking of sporty coupes, but it's one of the last two-door, two-seat sports cars on sale right now. It makes a healthy 420 horsepower from its turbocharged V6 engine, has rear-wheel drive, and sends its power through a nine-speed automatic transmission.

The Nismo's competitors are few and far between, but there's one sport coupe that lines up quite nicely: the BMW M2. The M2 makes 33 more horsepower from its turbocharged straight-six engine and weighs only about 100 pounds more than the Z. It's also rear-drive only, and though there is a manual transmission available, we wanted as fair a fight as possible, so we picked one with BMW's eight-speed automatic.

Here's one thing that might surprise you: As tested, the BMW M2 is actually cheaper than the Nissan Z Nismo. That makes this fight fair and square.

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Who wins this U-Drag? Watch the video to find out.

Nick Yekikian

by Nick Yekikian

Nick Yekikian has worked in the automotive industry since 2019. He has written close to a thousand car-related articles and tested and reviewed more than 200 vehicles over the course of his career. Nick is the Senior News Editor at Edmunds and has also contributed to MotorTrend, Automobile Magazine and Super Street. When Nick isn't zipping around town in his latest used-car find, he's probably making digital art in Photoshop or playing disc golf with friends.

Kathleen Clonts

edited by Kathleen Clonts

Kathleen Clonts has worked in the automotive industry since 2014 and has copy-edited thousands of vehicle reviews and stories about cars and the auto industry in that time. Kathleen is the Edmunds editorial team's copy chief and previously worked as the senior copy editor for Automobile magazine.

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