The story begins with high school student Akio Asakura encountering a black Porsche 911 Turbo nicknamed "Blackbird" on the Wangan.

Determined to drive a faster car, Akio visits a junkyard and is drawn to an old blue Nissan Fairlady Z (S30) with a highly tuned L28 engine.

He learns that the car is supposedly "cursed," being extremely difficult to drive and having a history of multiple accidents, earning it the name "The Devil Z" (悪魔のZ, Akuma no Zetto).

He also gets to meet Eriko Asakura, the sister of the original driver who shares the same name as the current Akio, who previously died in a car accident while racing with Blackbird.

The central plot revolves around the rivalry between the Devil Z and Blackbird for Wangan superiority as Akio tries to maintain his loyalty with the car and control it from crashing, with other racers trying to compete against both of them who are also seeking to oust their record.

The new story arc, Wangan Midnight: C1 Runner, features the new adventures of a new main character, Shinji Ogishima (who debuted in the last chapters of the original manga), and his friend, Nobu Setoguchi.

They are part of the GT Cars project, which is in dispute and conflict, and must drive Mazda RX-7's along Shuto Expressway to settle these problems along with meeting Tatsuya Shima.