The New Heritage Edition 2026 Nissan Z Celebrates the Turbocharged ’90s, Facts Be Damned
Sure, the original never wore Midnight Purple or door decals—but nostalgia isn’t about footnotes.
Aaron GoldWriterSep 09, 2025
2026 Nissan Z Heritage Edition Front 3 4
Cast your mind back to 1989. Hair was huge, Chrysler was still selling K-cars, and rusty Ford Mustang IIs and boxy Chevrolet Impalas roamed our streets—but then Nissan did something amazing, something that would change the entire performance-car scene. The company fitted not one but two turbochargers to its new teardrop-profile 300ZX. The boosted engine delivered 300 horsepower, a magic number that, at the time, was still the domain of heavily-modified, cantankerous American V-8s. And even then, it was usually preceded by a qualifier like “about,” “probably,” or “the guy who built the engine says so.” 300 hp from a dinky little 3.0-liter Japanese V-6? “Impossible,” said the grease-drenched car guys. “Eat my dust,” said Nissan.
The rest of Japan quickly followed, with the Toyota Supra, Mitsubishi 3000GT (and closely-related Dodge Stealth), and Mazda RX-7 all doubling up on exhaust turbines. By the mid-1990s, buyers could choose from a raft of relatively affordable Japanese cars that could chase down Porsches, Lambos, and Ferraris of fairly recent vintage. These were more than great cars; they were clear signs that what we would come to call the Malaise Era was over, not merely lingering in the rearview mirror but done, dead, and obliterated. All of the cars were great, but the Z32 300ZX, with its voluptuous styling and four-wheel-steering system, was the first and the best. The twin-turbo Z ushered in a golden age for Nissan, with Sentras, Stanzas, Hardbodies, and Pathfinders flying out of the showrooms, illuminated by the Z’s halo.
Oh, to relive those amazing days.
Well, now you can, sort-of, with a new $2,940 Heritage Package for the 2026 Nissan Z. Available on the mid-level Performance trim, this option bundle celebrates that first Z32 car with TWIN TURBO door graphics, 19-inch Rays wheels, a carbon-fiber spoiler with the TWIN TURBO logo, and Midnight Purple paint.
2026 Nissan Z Heritage Edition Rear 3 4
Granted, the original Z32 300ZX Turbo didn’t have door graphics, though its predecessor, the Z31, proclaimed its (single) turbo status loudly on its doors. Neither did Z32s come with Rays wheels from the factory, though they were a common swap. Midnight purple was first featured on the 1995 GT-R, a decade-and-a-half before that car arrived in the U.S., and while the Z32 did say “TWIN TURBO” on the trunk spoiler, that spoiler was body color, not carbon fiber. Still, the Heritage Package does not require a complete suspension of disbelief; it represents the sort of modifications owners made to their Z32s in those early days of the Japanese tuning scene.
The Heritage Package is also a reminder of something that people often forget: Not only did Nissan keep the Z in the lineup long after the Supra, 3000GT, and RX-7 were memories, but the modern Z embodies much of what made the Z32 twin-turbo car such a revolution—not least of which is a 3.0-liter V-6 with two honest-to-Datsun turbochargers. And while other automakers run away from clutch pedals, even in their sporting models, Nissan is adding them to the Z lineup.
In these days when pickup trucks sport dual turbochargers and family SUVs regularly boast 300 hp or more, the Z may seem like old-fashioned fun. But fun it still is, and we love that Nissan keeps it around, and in traditional form, in the face of what has to be an uphill business case. No doubt this is one for the Z fans, and we’re sure they’ll lap it up, even at the steep-ish $57,155 price. The Heritage Edition and other 2026 Zs should arrive at your local Nissan dealership by the end of September.
Aaron Gold
After a two-decade career as a freelance writer, Aaron Gold joined MotorTrend’s sister publication Automobile in 2018 before moving to the MT staff in 2021. Aaron is a native New Yorker who now lives in Los Angeles with his spouse, too many pets, and a cantankerous 1983 GMC Suburban.