The collector car market, in your inbox
Classic car news, hand-picked vehicles, and auction coverage. Choose what lands in your inbox.
The 50th Anniversary Edition was the most special Z money could buy in 1984, and this one looks like it was barely used. GAA Classic Car Auctions is sending this 1984 Nissan 300ZX across the block at no reserve during its November sale in Greensboro, North Carolina, with the owner stating just 21,000 miles on a mileage-exempt title.
Nissan built the Anniversary Edition to celebrate 50 years in business, and it was far more than a badge-and-stripe package. Just 5,148 were built for the United States, every one of them turbocharged, and all of them wearing the same two-tone Light Pewter Metallic over Thunder Black paint with triple gold pinstriping. Gold-inlaid 16-inch turbine wheels, ground effects, fender flares, leather with gold-embossed AE emblems, a digital instrument display, and even a gold key stamped with the anniversary logo were all part of the deal. At roughly $26,000, it was the most expensive Z Nissan had ever sold.
This example is optioned the way enthusiasts want it. The 3.0-liter turbocharged V6, rated at 200 horsepower and 227 lb-ft when new and good for a low-seven-second sprint to 60 mph, is backed by the five-speed manual instead of the four-speed automatic. T-tops, power windows, power locks, power steering, power brakes, a tilt steering wheel, cruise control, and the factory AM/FM radio with cassette player are all along for the ride.
The preservation story is what elevates it, though. The owner reports original paint and an original interior on a garage-kept car, which is exactly the combination that has been pulling clean Z31s out of the bargain bin and into serious collections. For years the 1984 300ZX was dismissed as Japan's answer to the Corvette and little else, but surviving Anniversary Editions like this rare find have quietly become some of the most sought-after Z-cars of the 1980s.
Low-mileage Z-cars have been on a tear lately, and well-kept later cars have proven there is real appetite for originality over restoration. A 21,000-mile, first-year 50th Anniversary car with its factory finishes intact sits right at the top of that conversation.
It runs as Lot FR0227 on Friday, and because it is a no-reserve consignment, it will sell to whoever raises a hand last. Full details and the complete photo gallery are available through GAA Classic Car Auctions.
