Nissan 300ZX

Posted on October 30, 2015 by classiccarweekly

1992 Nissan 300ZX Coupe

Offered by Auctions America | Hilton Head, South Carolina | October 31, 2015

Photo – Auctions America

The Toyota Supra. Mazda RX-7. Mitsubishi 3000GT. And the Nissan 300ZX. These were the sportiest Japanese cars you could buy in the 1990s. But by the mid-to-late 90s, they were all gone. As the prices came down on used ones, high schoolers took over, modifying them beyond repair. This car is a glimmer of hope.

This generation of Nissan’s Z-car was built between 1989 and 2000 (although they ceased arriving on American shores after 1996). The engine is a 3.0-liter V6 making 222 horsepower. An even-sportier twin turbo model was also offered. This car does have the glass T-tops.

Because so many of these have been driven into the ground by young people desperate to get their hands on something fast, not many remain – especially this clean and in this condition. In fact, Supras and RX-7s are climbing in price and are hardly ever seen. This is the most common of the three but you never see one that really looks like its got its stuff together. It’s a low-mileage, one-owner car estimated to bring $25,000-$30,000. Hopefully it goes to a good home. Click here for more info and here for the rest of Auctions America’s lineup.

Update: Sold $12,100.

Nissan R87E

Posted on June 24, 2014 by classiccarweekly

1987 Nissan R87E

Offered by Bonhams | London, U.K. | June 27, 2014

Photo – Bonhams

Nissan built some pretty awesome Group C racing prototypes in the late-80s and early-90s even if they didn’t have much on-track success. The R87E was their 1987 car and their third attempt at breaking into the Group C world. It used a chassis supplied by March Engineering of the U.K. and an in-house designed-and-built engine.

The powerplant is a 3.0-liter twin turbo V-8 making in excess of 750 horsepower. This was a step up from their previous car’s 700hp V-6. 1987 was a disastrous year for Nissan’s program, running only two events and failing to finish both. So for 1988, this car was upgraded to R88C specification and it ran at Le Mans again in 1988. Here is it’s 1988 competition history:

1988 Fuji 500km – DNF (with Kazuyoshi Hoshino and Kenji Takahashi)
1988 Suzuka 500km – 6th (with Hoshino and Takahashi)
1988 Fuji 1000km (May) – 7th (with Win Percy, Hoshino and Takahashi)
1988 24 Hours of Le Mans – 29th, DNF (with Aguri Suzuki, Takao Wada and Hoshino)
1988 Fuji 500 miles – 5th (with Hoshino and Takahashi)
1988 Suzuka 1000km – DNF (with Toshio Suzuki, Hoshino and Takahashi)
1988 Fuji 1000km (October) – 9th (with Allan Grice, Hoshino and Takahashi)

This car was sold and restored to R87E specification with 1988 Calsonic livery and a 3.3-liter development version of the 3.0-liter Nissan V-8 – making 780 horsepower. Bonhams says the engine has been run for less than an hour since rebuild. Only three of these were built and this one should bring between $710,000-$810,000. Click here for more info and here for more from Bonhams.

Update: Not sold.

Ex-Colin McRae Nissan 240RS Rally Car

Posted on February 12, 2014 by classiccarweekly

1984 Nissan 240RS Group B

Offered by Silverstone Auctions | Stoneleigh, U.K. | February 22-23, 2014

The Nissan Silvia began life in 1964 as the Datsun Coupe 1500. The third generation (code name: S110) was introduced in 1979. In the U.S. it was called the Datsun 200SX. It was sporty looking with only two doors but lacked any real performance cred.

When the FIA introduced Group B regulations in 1982, Nissan found the Silvia’s calling for performance. Group B had homologation rules – so Nissan had to build some for the road too. Those are rare. This is the Group B race version.

It is powered by a 2.4-liter straight-four making 237 horsepower. The car you see here was owned by the late rally legend Colin McRae. It was the only Group B car he ever raced during the Group B era – even though he used it in 1987 and Group B was dismantled after 1986.

This car has been extensively rebuilt and prepped for events and is used occasionally (like at Goodwood). Only about 200 of these cars were built between 1983 and 1985 and only about 30 of those were competition models, making this very rare. And having one of rally’s legends as a former owner and driver just makes it even better. It should sell for between $83,000-$100,000. Click here for a more detailed history of this car and here for more from this Silverstone sale.

Update: Failed to sell.

Autech Zagato Stelvio

Posted on October 12, 2012 by classiccarweekly

1991 Autech Zagato Stelvio AZ1

Offered by Coys | Ascot, U.K. | October 13, 2012

I would hate to call a car that has been designed by one of the world’s foremost automotive design houses “bizarre” so I won’t. I’ll call it “Japanese,” as they are known for their love of quirky, boxy cars. Milanese design house Zagato created the aluminium body – which even has the signature Zagato “double bubble” roof, if only so slightly – while Autech, a Nissan-owned performance tuning subsidiary, was behind the rest of the car.

The car is based on a Nissan Leopard (a car America received as the Infiniti M30) and has an Autech-tuned 3.0-liter turbocharged V6 under hood making 320 horsepower. They also tuned the suspension and the frame. The entire car was built by hand and a production run of 200 was scheduled, although only 104 made it out the door.

They were very expensive when first released in 1989, but the price has subsided a little bit, with Coys expecting this to fetch between $38,000-$48,000. This is a very rare car – tell me if you’ve ever seen one let alone even heard of it. You can read more about it here, and check out the rest of Coys auction lineup here.