Ten cars. That’s it. Nissan Australia has announced the Z Heritage Edition, a limited run finished in Midnight Purple with bronze RAYS forged wheels, and if you want one, you’d better already know someone.
The colour is borrowed from the GT-R, as a precious memory of a departed icon. Midnight Purple has achieved mythical status among Nissan enthusiasts who remember when an R34 was something you actually saw on the road rather than something you saw selling for the price of a modest apartment. Slapping it on the Z is either a loving tribute or a calculated tug at the heartstrings. Both, probably.
The Z Heritage Edition sits on 19-inch RAYS forged alloys in bronze, which sets off the purple rather nicely. Beyond that, the mechanical bits remain unchanged from the standard Z: twin-turbocharged 3.0-litre V6 with 298kW and 475Nm, in manual or auto. It’s not about going faster. It’s about looking like a poster on a teenager’s wall from 1995. It’s ab out looking even cooler.
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ABOVE: Nissan Z Heritage Edition and Z Owners Club members in Melbourne
Seven Generations of the Same Idea
The Z started life in 1969 as the Datsun 240Z, known as the Fairlady Z in Japan because the Japanese marketing department had a different vibe in mind. The pitch was simple: a stylish six-cylinder sports car that could embarrass European metal at a fraction of the price. It worked.
What followed was a parade of gorgeous and iconic silhouettes. The 260Z. The 280ZX. The V6-powered 300ZX in two flavours. The 350Z that rose from the ashes in 2002 after the nameplate took a sabbatical. The long-serving 370Z that carried the torch until 2020. And now the current Z, which looked back at the halcyon days of Zedding and welded every glorious moment into a single work of art.
Australia has bought every single one. The first right-hand drive 240Z arrived in 1970 and the country hasn’t stopped since. When the Z NISMO launched in August 2023, the initial allocation sold out in under an hour. There is, apparently, no shortage of Australians willing to pay for a Japanese sports car that sounds like it means it.
The People Who Own Them
Nissan gathered members of the Nissan Datsun Sports Owners Club in Melbourne for a photoshoot, and the stories are better than the spec sheet. The teary recollections flowed.
Dave Toleman owns a fastidiously restored 1972 240Z. His reason for loving it? “Its style, sportiness and legendary reliability. It just has iconic looks and performance.” Fair enough.
Ron Ray is a life member of the club with more than 50 years of involvement. He’s owned everything from early Datsun roadsters to multiple Z generations. Today he drives a 370Z, not because it’s the newest or fastest, but because it keeps him connected to the community he’s been part of since your parents were learning to walk. “My Z is really my connection to the club,” he said. “I’ve been part of it for over 50 years. I’ve had a lot of different models over that time, but the Z has always been the constant.”
Mark Todd has owned his 280ZX for more than 30 years and now also runs a pristine Z31 300ZX. Three decades with the same car. That’s not ownership. That’s a relationship.
The photos tell the story better than any glossy brochure ever could. Five generations of Z lined up against a Melbourne night sky. Owners standing next to cars they’ve poured years into. The reflection of a 240Z in the glass of a building behind a new Z. Nissan’s marketing team understood the assignment.
Will You Get One?
Probably not. Ten units nationally means the allocation will have evaporated before most people finish reading this sentence. But that’s not really the point. The Heritage Edition exists to remind everyone that the Z is still here, still weird, still beloved by people who measure cars in stories rather than spreadsheets.
If you do want one, pricing and ordering details will come through Nissan dealers. Good luck explaining to your partner why you need a purple Japanese sports car that costs whatever this will cost.
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Alan Zurvas is the founder and editor of Gay Car Boys, Australia's leading LGBTQI+ automotive publication. Before launching GCB in 2008, Alan's automotive writing was published in SameSame.com.au and the Star Observer. With over 16 years of hands-on car reviewing experience, Alan brings an honest, irreverent voice to every review — championing value and innovation over brand loyalty.
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