It’s hard to make a heritage edition of a car that’s packed with retro cues. The RZ34’s sheetmetal already mimics that of the S30 and the Z32 generations, so when it came time to make a Heritage Edition of the Z, Nissan was in a bit pickle. Or, make that a plum, because the Z is now resplendently draped in Midnight Purple.
It’s a bit odd because as beloved as Midnight Purple is, it isn’t really a Z color. It’s a Skyline GT-R color that debuted on the R33, where it proved so popular that Nissan brought it back for the R34, and then brought it back again on the R35 as a throwback nod to the R34. On the Z Heritage Edition, the paint is more like that of the R34’s, which had a bit of purple-green “chameleon” color shift.
If Nissan really wanted to purple-ize the Z, they could’ve gone with the LP2 Deep Purple Metallic that was offered on the 1995-96 300ZX. In fact, Nissan is touting the Heritage Edition’s references to the Z32, which really only amount to a “Twin Turbo” badge on the carbon-fiber rear spoiler and similar decals on the sides. These use the same font as the “Twin Turbo” markings on the Z32, but in this case refer to the 400-horsepower VR30DDTT.
The car also comes with 19-inch Rays wheels in bronze which, again, looks more like a GT-R thing. Not that it looks bad. The Z has a certain presence on the road if you’re lucky enough to see one in the wild, and the outrageous paint job will only add to the visual feast. Heritage Edition labels can also be found on the door sill plates and floormats.
Recently, the final R35 GT-R to roll off the assembly line was finished in Midnight Purple, but the color lives on in the Z. The Heritage Edition package adds $2,940 to the price of a Z with the Performance Package that comes standard with LSD and other performance enhancing parts. That makes the total $55,910 for the exclusive hue.
Is it worth it? It depends on how much you dig the lore of high-performance Nissans from the heyday of the Tuner Era. In Japan, Midnight Purple was already offered on the Fairlady Z starting in January, along with Bayside Blue. Both legendary colors represent a rare instance when an OEM winked at the world of underground street racers, and for some, that may justify the premium.
Images courtesy of Nissan.
