Jared has spent 15 years covering the auto industry, getting his first break with autoX—one of Asia’s biggest auto magazines. Since 2010, he has reviewed hundreds of cars and motorbikes around the world, worked with Top Gear, Autocar, Evo, Motoring World, and Quattroruote, served on the IMOTY jury for five years, and is a founding member of the Automotive Journalist Association of India (AJAI).
2026 has just begun, and we are only days away from one of the most exciting car shows in the world. The Tokyo Auto Salon 2026 runs January 9 to 11 at Makuhari Messe, and this year the big Japanese car brands are presenting something we have been begging for.
Finally, it looks like affordable performance cars will be making a strong comeback in this new year. Toyota, Honda, Subaru, and Nissan have all given us a taste of what’s to come, and we couldn’t be more excited to see the newest and latest upcoming performance cars. We are getting everything from new STI models to NISMO models, and a lot of them will come with manual transmissions. Here is everything we are looking forward to when the gates open to the Tokyo Auto Salon show.
Manuals are not dead, and Nissan is taking that personally. Nissan is rolling into Tokyo Auto Salon 2026 with it’s biggest star coming in the form of a refreshed Fairlady Z, due to launch in Japan in summer 2026. But the real enthusiast bait is Z NISMO MT. Nissan is giving the NISMO Z a manual transmission option, for those people who still like to use a clutch.
Nissan is also teasing a mystery NISMO concept model, but we have confirmation that it’s not going to be a GT-R like we hoped for. According to our sister website CarBuzz, Nissan’s newest Nismo concept model is based on the Nissan Note Aura, which is the model that it used to sell in the US as the Versa Note. This new concept will no doubt be more powerful and aggressive, but what we really admire is that this is another affordable sports car option coming our way, hopefully.
Nissan will also feature a few other fun crowd-pleasers like a restored and manual-swapped “Matchy’s March,” which gives us hope that Nissan is still the brand that can still be playful when it wants to be.
For the 2026 Toko show, Honda’s theme is “Honda Sports DNA”. The big world premieres are the Civic Type R HRC Concept and Prelude HRC Concept, both developed with Honda Racing Corporation influence.
However, what we can expect to hit the market sooner rather than later is the Civic e:HEV RS Prototype. This will be a sportier hybrid Civic, and it will feature the Japanese brand’s all-new S+ Shift tech, which has been designed to make the driving experience feel more engaging.
Subaru, might be the smallest carmaker out of the lot, but they go big every time it comes to making performance accessible to everyone. Subaru will be leaning hard into this at the Tokyo show, and it will feature a lineup with a mix of special editions and motorsport credibility. We are looking forward to STI-enhanced versions of the Levorg, WRX S4, and Impreza.
Subaru’s WRX S4 STI Sport R-Black Limited II STI Performance takes the stlying up a notch with matte black 18-inch wheels, and black accents like the mirrors and roof antenna. Inside the cabin, it gets Recaro front seats with yellow perforated trim and a suede-like dash, plus extra Subaru accessories and STI performance parts. For the Impreza ST-H STI Performance Edition with Plus Package, added goodies include motorsport-inspired STI parts to sharpen handling and stability while keeping the ride comfortable.
The biggest showcase for the world’s largest carmaker will be the all-new GR GT and GR GT3. The car will be made available for the public to see in the flesh for the very first time. However, we have uncovered something far more interesting and exciting. In a cryptic post by Toyota Gazoo Racing, it looks like Toyota chairman, Akio Toyoda, bought a customized mid-engine two-seater sports car. This custom car will be revealed in Tokyo. Now, speculation has been swirling that this will be a teaser for the new MR2, which we believe will be making a comeback very soon.
Toyota has been developing a new turbo 2.0-liter four-cylinder with big power potential, and industry reports have tied that engine to future performance projects. At the same time, the MR2 name has been popping up in trademark activity, which is exactly the kind of breadcrumb that makes Toyota fans take notice. Nothing is confirmed for a Tokyo Auto Salon reveal yet, but the timing and the noise around Toyota’s future sports car plans are getting hard to ignore.
Regardless of all the mystery and the rumors, we are still happy to see that affordable sports cars and performance cars are getting more attention from OEM’s. Manual transmission as well, will always be a major draw for car enthusiasts. So far, it looks like there will be much to be celebrated from Tokyo Auto Salon 2026.
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