Take I-20 East out of Birmingham, cover roughly 18 miles, and you land in Leeds, Alabama, home to one of the most legitimately surprising motorsports destinations in the country. The 2026 Nissan Z is the right car for that run, not because it's dramatic, but because 400 horsepower on a light summer evening just works. Warm air, open highway, twin turbos spooling. That's the plan.
The 2026 Nissan Z sits in an interesting spot in our lineup. It's the one model where we lean toward a more spirited tone, because the car earns it. We'll also be upfront about what you're signing up for: two seats and a compact trunk. Bring one person you actually want to talk to, pack light, and the evening gets a whole lot better.
What's the Plan at a Glance?
This route works as a weeknight or a Saturday. Hit the museum before it closes (summer hours are generous), grab barbecue, and make the drive back with a cooler evening behind you.
| Stop | What to Do | Best Time | Parking |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hallmark Nissan, Birmingham | Pick up the Z, top off the tank | Afternoon | On-site |
| I-20 East corridor | 18-mile run to Leeds | 4-5 PM before peak heat fades | N/A |
| Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum | Walk the five floors, find your favorite Lotus | Arrive by 4 PM (closes 6 PM summer) | Free, large lot |
| Rusty's Bar-B-Que, Leeds | Settle in for Alabama barbecue | After the museum | Street and lot |
| I-20 West return | Evening run back to Birmingham | 7-8 PM, cooler temps | N/A |
Barber Motorsports Museum Is the Destination, Full Stop
If you've never been, the Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum in Leeds holds a Guinness World Record for the world's largest motorcycle collection: over 1,800 motorcycles spanning more than 100 years of production, representing 220 manufacturers from 22 countries. It also houses the world's largest collection of vintage Lotus racecars. The building runs five stories with a spiral walkway connecting the floors, and the attached road course is a 17-turn, 2.38-mile circuit that hosts IndyCar and MotoAmerica events. You drive to a racetrack to look at racing machinery. That combination is genuinely rare anywhere in the country.
Check what we currently have on the lot before you go, but this stop earns the drive even if the Z wasn't already on your radar.
Summer hours (April through September) run Monday through Saturday, 10 AM to 6 PM, and Sunday noon to 6 PM. Plan to arrive no later than 4 PM to give yourself enough time to cover all five floors without rushing. The museum notes you'll want two to two and a half hours to see it properly.
Insider note: Check barbermuseum.org before you go. The museum closes for certain holidays and major race-event weekends require a separate event ticket to access the park. July 4 and July 29, 2026 are both listed as closure days, so plan your weekend accordingly.
The I-20 Corridor Actually Suits the Z
When the Z comes back from a weekend highway run, one pattern we've noticed on the fuel side is consistent with what Nissan's own 2026 EPA estimates show: the automatic transmission version returns better highway numbers than the manual, rated at 28 miles per gallon on the highway against 24 for the manual. Neither number hurts on a casual summer drive. At its core the Z is a GT coupe, and it likes sustained highway miles more than a pure track-day car would. That makes the I-20 East run genuinely enjoyable rather than something you endure between destinations.
Talk to our finance team if you've been sitting on the Z question for a while. Putting real miles on a car has a way of settling the debate.
The stretch into Leeds gives you enough open road to understand what the 3.0-liter twin-turbo V6 feels like when you're simply driving rather than pushing. It pulls cleanly from low rpm. Nissan specs the torque delivery starting at 1,600 rpm, so you don't need to chase revs constantly to feel the engine working. On a summer evening when you'd rather listen to the exhaust note than fight traffic, that low-end pull matters more than peak horsepower.
The 2026 Nissan Z's 3.0-liter twin-turbo V6 delivers 350 lb-ft of torque from as low as 1,600 rpm, which makes the highway run to Leeds feel effortless rather than worked.
After the Museum: Rusty's Bar-B-Que and the Drive Home
Rusty's Bar-B-Que in Leeds is a genuinely local smokehouse, the kind of place that gets name-checked on the city's own tourism page. Not because a marketing team put it there, but because it belongs there. It's the right stop after two hours of walking through racing history. You're not in a hurry at that point, and the Z doesn't need you to be.
See what your current vehicle is worth if this evening is nudging the conversation in that direction. We keep the trade-in process straightforward, and summer is a solid time to make a move.
The return run back to Birmingham on I-20 West is the part of the evening the Z is built for. Alabama summer heat starts to back off later in the evening, and a two-seat sports coupe with a Bose audio system tuned specifically for the Z's cabin shape, wireless Apple CarPlay, and 400 horsepower waiting on your right foot is a genuinely good way to end a Wednesday. Or a Saturday. Either works.
The Z Is Worth Driving, Not Just Owning
We'll be straight with you about the tradeoffs, because they're real. The Nissan Z has a small trunk and two seats. It requires 93-octane premium fuel to perform at its rated output. The cabin is focused on the driver, which means it's not the most spacious environment for two people on a long trip. Those are genuine limitations, not footnotes you can skip.
What it gives back is a rear-wheel-drive sports coupe with a 400-horsepower engine, an available six-speed manual with SynchroRev Match automatic rev-matching, and a suspension tuned on monotube shocks front and rear, all at a starting price that puts it below most of its sports-car competition. It's the kind of car that makes a familiar stretch of Alabama interstate feel like it has a point.
The Leeds run is about 36 miles round trip. That's enough to understand what you're dealing with, and it's a fair test before you commit to anything.
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