Nissan 300ZX Z32 Portal

The Z32 300ZX was Nissan's 1990 moonshot: a twin-turbo V6 and four-wheel steering, wrapped in a shape so clean it still looks modern 35 years on. It was the technology flagship, the one that proved Japan could build a proper 155mph GT, and for years it was criminally cheap because people were scared of the engine bay. That is changing fast. Here is the range sorted, with an honest word on what owning one really means.

VG30DE vs VG30DETT

The naturally aspirated VG30DE is a smooth, torquey 3.0 V6, and there is nothing wrong with it as a cruiser. But the car was built around the VG30DETT, the twin-turbo, with its side-mount intercoolers and, on the higher grades, Super HICAS four-wheel steering. That is the version that made the Z32's name, and in our data the twin-turbo 2+2 (GCZ32) alone runs to more than 23,000 cars logged. If you are buying the Z32 for what it is, buy the TT.

The honest bit: owning one

No sugar-coating it, the Z32 twin-turbo is the most involved Z to live with. The two turbos are crammed into a tight bay, so jobs that are ten minutes on other cars turn into afternoons. The timing belt is an interference-engine service you do not skip. And the known weak spots, tired wiring harnesses, dodgy idle-control valves and the odd electrical gremlin, are all well documented. None of it is scary if the car has been loved and comes with records. A cheap one with no history, though, can eat you alive. Buy the paperwork as much as the car.

Twin Turbo (VG30DETT): the one to buy

280 factory horses, four-wheel steering on the good ones, and a chassis that shrinks around you at speed. A well-kept twin-turbo 2-seater is the Z32 to own and the one climbing hardest. Condition and history beat a big power claim every day of the week here.

Naturally aspirated (VG30DE)

The NA car is cheaper and simpler, and a genuinely nice boulevard cruiser, and it dodges some of the twin-turbo's fiddliness. If you want the shape and the T-tops without the turbo running costs, it is a fair way in. Just do not expect it to feel like the TT, because it will not.

So which Z32 do you actually want?

A twin-turbo 2-seater with a folder full of history, ideally from one owner who clearly cared. The engine is not the problem, neglect is. Pay up for the best-kept TT you can find and you have a 90s icon that still embarrasses much newer machinery. Chase a no-records bargain and you will spend the difference twice over.