Sometimes a car comes along that we can't believe is so original! We are excited to offer for sale this 1982 Nissan 280 ZX that is original in every way. From it's mileage, paint, interior, engine room, this car is completely untouched!

When acquired by the current collector owner in 2006, this completely original 280ZX Turbo had a verified 8,200 miles on the odometer. At that time, the car was owned by a Nissan engineer, who had purchased the car directly from Nissan. He owned it several years, and paperwork indicated he only drove roughly 50 miles a year.

Still in pristine condition, and now showing 9409 actual miles, this ZX has all original paint, no rust, and only one noticeable ding on the hood (smaller than a dime). Equipped with automatic climate control, cruise control, and Nakamichi stereo with power antenna, all of which are working, the car needs nothing. The leather/suede seats look and feel like new, and even the computerized voice still warns that "Lights are on!"

Now wearing new radial tires, the car drives remarkably well, and the original tires will go with the car. Also still with the car are the correct T-top sun shades and storage bag. The original California blue plate comes with the car.There are very few original Z cars of this age still in this incredible condition, and this is a "must see" for a serious Z collector.

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The Nissan 280ZX was a sports coupe produced from 1978 to 1983. It was the second generation Z-car, replacing the Datsun 280Z in late 1978. The 280ZX was Motor Trends Import Car of the Year for 1979. The 280ZX was replaced by the Nissan 300 ZX in 1984.

The 280ZX was a complete redesign, retaining only the L28 Inline-6 engine and other driveline components from the 280 Z. Both two-seater and four-seater (2+2) designs were offered. For the first time, the 2+2 was a new design rather than a stretched version of the two-seater.

With a focus on the oil crisis of the late 1970s, Nissan improved fuel economy, emissions, and aerodynamics over the first generation Z-cars. In addition, high-end audio systems were standard.

The 280ZX adopted suspension similar to that of the concurrent Bluebird 910, with MacPherson Struts in front and semi-trailing arm independent in the rear. The wheelbase was up from its predecessor (90.7 in (2,304 mm)) to 91.3 in (2,319 mm) for the two-seater.

The 280ZX's body was redesigned with aerodynamics in mind. By closing in the open grille of the first generation Z-car and through other improvements taken from wind-tunnel testing, the drag coefficient was reduced from 0.467 to 0.385, and the lift coefficient from 0.41 to 0.14. The new design had a lower center-of-gravity and near 50/50 weight distribution in both 2-seater and 2+2 designs. The rear of the car was stretched to accommodate a larger 80 L (21.133 U.S. liquid gallons) fuel tank. Overall, the new body design gave better fuel economy and high-speed stability (one of the known issues from the first generation Z-car).

Improvements were also made to braking, and steering. The 280ZX initially offered either unassisted rack-and-pinion steering, or Datsun 810-derived recirculating-ball with power assistance. A new power-assisted rack-and-pinion replaced the recirculating-ball steering system for the 1981 Turbo, becoming available on the normally aspirated models the following year.

It is a common misconception that the 280ZX's L28 engine is less powerful than the L24 engine of the 1970 240Z: the difference is due to Nissan adopting the SAE net standard of power measurement, which resulted in lower power ratings than the earlier gross figures and added emissions. However, Nissan designers deliberately sacrificed raw acceleration for improved fuel economy in the 280ZX, so the early 1979 models rated at 145 hp (108 kW) actually had slower acceleration than the 240Z, largely due to increases in weight and emissions control strangling. This overall performance deficit was not addressed until the release of the 280ZX Turbo in 1981.

Nissan gave the 280ZX a face lift in 1982 with revised NACA ducting in the hood, new alloy wheels (14 in. 6-spoke alloys for non-turbo models, and 15 in. 4-spoke alloys for turbo models), a revised B-pillar garnish, new pin-stripe style tail-lights, and rubber bumper over-riders replaced the earlier model's chrome and rubber items. Interior changes were minor but included new seat trim styling. The 1982 model also was the first to offer the popular voice warning system, which warned the driver when headlights were left on after the vehicle was turned off, if the parking brake was on while the vehicle was in motion, and many other warnings.

This facelifted model has since come to be called the "Series II" 280ZX.

Power steering became standard equipment with a new rack-and-pinion system, rather than recirculating ball. Changes were made to the rear suspension layout, which also meant the exhaust pipe now exited from the left, rather than right-hand side.

As in 1981 both turbo and normally aspirated engines were offered, but non-turbo cars now used the uprated L20E for the Japanese Market or L28E for the export market, which on the 2.8L version, due to increased compression, were rated at 145 hp (108 kW) rather than the earlier engine's 135 hp (101 kW). The 1982 Datsun 280ZX NA boasted a 0-60 MPH time of 9.1 seconds. That's 0.1 faster than the Corvette of the same year which had a 9.2 second 0-60 MPH time. The 280ZX Turbo manual had a 0-60 MPH of 7.4 second while the automatic managed to turn out 7.1 seconds. That compares to the Aston Martin Volante with a 0-60 MPH of 8.9 seconds and almost seven times the cost and the Ferrari 308GTSi with a 0-60 MPH of 7.9 seconds. The only cars in 1982 to beat the Turbo ZX was the Porsche 911SC and the BMW M1 which were considered by most to be exotic cars. This info can be referenced in the R&T Guide to Sports & GT Cars 1982.

The (US market only) 280ZX Turbo was offered with a manual transmission; this was a Borg-Warner T-5 5-speed model (this was the first Nissan and Japanese car in general which used a non-Japanese transmission; the T-5 was also used, most notably, in the GM F-bodies and Ford Mustang) in addition to numerous other American domestic vehicles. The T-5 was only available in 1982 and 1983. The 1981 Turbo was only available as an automatic.

Spring rates and sway bars were revised, which largely addressed the handling nervousness of the early 280ZX Turbo, and reviews confirmed that the 1982 280ZX Turbo was the most sporting Z-car since the original 240Z of 1970.