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Ask a room full of car people to name a great Japanese turbo coupe from the 1980s and the answers come fast: Supra, Skyline, maybe a Starion. The 1986 Nissan 300ZX Turbo 5-Speed live on Bring a Trailer belongs in that conversation, and it rarely gets invited. The auction ends Saturday, October 31, and the bid sits at $7,500 as of this writing.
The Z-Car That Went Turbo
The Z31 arrived in the U.S. for the 1984 model year, and the Turbo was the one to have. Under the hood sat the VG30ET, a 3.0-liter V6 fed by a Garrett T3 turbocharger. The VG family was Japan's first mass-produced V6, and in this tune it made 200 horsepower and 227 lb-ft of torque. In 1986 that was within shouting distance of the Corvette's roughly 230 horsepower, and the 300ZX Turbo stickered at around $26,000, which put it in the same price conversation too.
Road testers have put 0-60 mph at about seven seconds, with a governed top speed of 137 mph. The car weighed a little over 3,000 pounds, rode on four-wheel disc brakes, and came with climate control, cruise control and a digital-leaning cabin that was ambitious for the time. This one is a 5-speed car, so the turbo's linear build above 2,500 rpm goes through your left leg and right hand.
What You're Bidding On
This 300ZX was bought by the seller's father more than a decade ago and has stayed in the family since. It's finished in Light Pewter Metallic over black and gray cloth, with T-tops, pop-up headlights, a hood scoop, a rear spoiler and the factory adjustable dampers. The odometer shows about 65,000 kilometers, or roughly 40,000 miles, and the listing says approximately 5,000 kilometers have been added under current ownership.
The listing is upfront about a few things. The Carfax report shows mileage inconsistencies in March 2009 and May 2014, which the listing says may just be clerical errors, though it also notes no accidents or damage reported. This is not a stock car, either. It wears a Kaminari-style front fascia, 18-inch three-piece turbine-style wheels, Eibach lowering springs, electric fans, an aftermarket intake and a catback exhaust, with auxiliary gauges for boost, oil pressure and oil temperature mounted above the center stack. Service in 2026 included a new battery and serpentine belts, an oil change and a coolant flush, and fresh Winrun R330 tires went on in September.
The car is being offered from Canada with Ontario registration, so U.S. bidders should check BaT's shipping and import information before they get serious.
Why It Deserves Another Look
Part of the story is how thoroughly the Z31 got overshadowed. Nissan's own next act, the twin-turbo Z32, became the poster car, and the Supra and Skyline took over the legend-building. The Z31 Turbo came first, and it was Nissan's answer to an era of emissions and safety rules that were strangling sports cars. Its 1984 launch car, the 50th Anniversary Edition, showed how far Nissan was willing to go with digital dashes and mirrored T-tops. To see where the lineage ended up, look at this 34-years-owned 1990 300ZX Twin Turbo.
It also fits a pattern we keep running into: Japanese turbo coupes from this era that once felt ordinary are getting a second look. We've covered the Mitsubishi Starion, the 3000GT VR-4 Spyder and a one-owner 1994 Supra Turbo. At $7,500 today, the Z31 is the quiet one in the group.
It does come with caveats. The modifications won't suit a purist, and the mileage questions in the Carfax history are worth raising with the seller in the comments. But for someone who wants a turbocharged, T-top, pop-up-headlight 1980s Japanese sports car to drive rather than preserve, this one is worth a closer look before the clock runs out on October 31.
Source: Bring a Trailer.
