Nissan 350Z Gran Turismo 4 | Spotted
Only 176 examples of the GT tribute model were produced. Does that make this Zed worthy of collector status?
Crossovers come in all different shapes and sizes. No, we’re not talking about hatchbacks with plastic wheel arches, rather the car equivalent of Batman vs Superman. Partnerships like Aston Martin and James Bond, or Abarth and pretty much anything, have resulted in some truly brilliant offerings that have collectors on both sides of the conceptual fence salivating.
Only occasionally do we see the real and virtual automotive worlds crossover, though, which is disappointing for PH’s self-appointed videogame expert. Cars and computer games go hand in hand, giving you the ability to collect hundreds of cars that you can tune, paint and race without forking out the equivalent of a house deposit as you would do in the real world. No computer game has come close to embedding itself into actual real-world car culture like Gran Turismo. This was a crucial game for many, especially when it came to opening people's eyes to all the weird and wonderful corners of car culture. Think about it: would the Suzuki Escudo Pikes Peak car be as legendary as it is today without GT?
So, on the run-up to the release of Gran Turismo 4 in late December 2004, GT developer Polyphony Digital thought it’d be a good idea to finally bridge the gap between the real and digital realms with a limited-run car that could be driven both in the game and in real life. It teamed up with Nissan, which was busy celebrating the 35th birthday of the 350Z, to launch a small batch of Anniversary Edition cars with a copy of the game and a PlayStation 2 to play it on. Best of all, you could access the GT4 edition in-game so you can crash to your heart’s content on the Nordschleife without writing it off in the process.
Visually, there wasn’t a huge difference between the standard 350Z and the GT4 car. A new colour was released, Ultra Yellow, which a Nissan press release described as “eye-ball wrenching”. Hard to argue with that. If you didn’t fancy having your eyes violently stretched out of their sockets, a tamer Kuro Black was also offered. Each car was adorned with a Gran Turismo 4 logo on the dashboard, along with the build number out of the 176-strong production run. And if you had an extra £2,495 burning a hole in your pocket at the time, Nissan would bung-on a Nismo body kit designed in partnership with the GT creators.
As it’s based on the 35th Anniversary car, it gets a bunch of performance goodies, too. The 3.5-litre V6 received updates to the pistons and camshaft, along with electronic exhaust timing control, increasing peak power to 300hp – 20hp more than the base car. Straight-line performance was decent, with the GT4 taking 5.7 seconds to hit 62mph (a smidgen faster than the regular Zed) and making a darn good howl while doing so.
While not an all-out homage to the Gran Turismo series, the GT4 edition’s £2,500 premium over the standard 350Z was pretty decent value at the time. But is it special enough to be considered a collector’s item? Well, the previous owner of this car certainly wanted to see if that would be the case, as it’s only covered 555 miles over the past 18 years. The £29,995 asking price ought to gauge whether or not the GT4 edition is ready to join the ranks of skyrocketing Japanese specials. But, like finding a video game still in its original packaging, there’s surely a collector out there waiting for an example just like this. Just don’t expect to find a brand-new PS2 and copy of GT4 in the boot.
SPECIFICATION | NISSAN 350Z GRAN TURISMO 4 LIMITED EDITION
Engine: 3,498cc V6
Transmission: 6-speed manual, rear-wheel drive
Power (hp): 300@6,400rpm
Torque (lb ft): 260@4,800rpm
MPG: 26.2
CO2: 280g/km
Year registered: 2005
Recorded mileage: 555
Price new: £29,500
Yours for: £29,995
That is a big price for a car that is renowned for having terrible rust proofing though, however if it has been stored properly then it definitely ticks the nostalgia box for me.
I can now right now look out of the window at one on the drive that doesn’t look that much different that cost five grand.
so for 17 years of storage, someone is selling the car for the same price they bought it for. Accounting for inflation and cost of storage and service, not a great investment. Fast forward 17 years what will it be worth, still £30k if mileage stays <1000 miles?
Better off using and enjoying.
I'm not sure the image is completely in the dustbin with these cars although it has been close. Along with most Japanese cars of that era prices have been creeping up and good ones with low mileage are increasingly hard to find. It's a pattern repeated with many cars. The difference between cars like this and those like the BMW mentioned is the complexity. The 350Z is not a complicated car with troublesome and expensive electrical systems to put right. Pretty soon you won't see everyday driver 350Zs and that's when values will really increase. Supras, Mazdas, Hondas and just about everything Japanese from the 90s are the equivalent of the expensive old Fords we see today.
). Great drive, would have loved a GT4 but they are rare. Mine, and many I've seen, tend to corrode badly underneath, so keeping it off the road was probably the right thing to do. 
A 40k miler would still be worth about £10k so storing it has been a waste.
There’s got to have been quite a few better options to spend the money on 18 years ago to get a better return, even cars.
There’s got to have been quite a few better options to spend the money on 18 years ago to get a better return, even cars.
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