1990 Nissan 300ZX

The love showered on the 1990 Nissan 300ZX could be due to its timeless body design. Or maybe it’s due to its place as one of the most technologically advanced cars of its era. As Berkley One Classics celebrates the big 5-0, we’re hosting an exciting virtual car show for collectors and enthusiasts alike. We’ll share our love of classic cars by spotlighting 50 cars for 50 years that have been chosen and beloved by our employees. Each will showcase the evolution of design and engineering and provide a nostalgic journey through auto and pop culture history. Read on as Alyssa Acosta, Vice President, Operations at Berkley One, tells us why she loves the 1990 Nissan 300ZX.

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The Car

The Z32 chassis of the Nissan 300ZX features a timeless body design. It was one of the most technologically advanced production cars of its time offering features found in modern vehicles of today. Under the hood was a Twin Cam 3.0 litre V6 Twin Turbo (TT) paired to a 5-speed manual transmission with Limited Slip Differential. The High Capacity Actively Controlled Suspension (HICAS) enabled 4-wheel steering. The sleek exterior offered a more refined and futuristic look with flush mount headlights and lean body lines versus the prior generation of the 80’s.

The headlights were so exotic for the time that Lamborghini used, under license, these specific headlights for their Diablo in the late 90’s.

Technology features such as heated mirrors, ambient temperature sensor climate control, and adjustable suspension dampening from Sport to Touring modes at the flip of the switch were generally unheard of for vehicles in its price range.

The Collector

The Nissan 300ZX is a driver’s car with all controls found around the steering column and not a cup holder in sight. This generation of the 300ZX was designed entirely in-house by Nissan and is one of the first production vehicles created using Computer Automated Design (CAD). The car was unveiled in a Super Bowl commercial directed by Ridley Scott, where he is vividly describing a dream. In it, he was driving a Nissan 300ZX while racing a fighter jet. The commercial was later removed by Nissan with concerns that it would encourage driving at a high rate of speed.

The Love

When I was a child, these cars would catch my eye on the road every time I would see one. I would get so excited and talk incessantly about how much I loved them to whomever would listen. I would even ask to go to the Nissan dealerships just to be able to see them on the showroom floor.

Alyssa’s Nissan 300ZX sitting in her garage under the brochure her mom got her when she was younger. 

One year, my mother went to a dealership in the area and picked up a brochure of the car. This brochure folded out as a poster of a side profile of silver model of the 300ZX and the cover was simply a typewriter-style bold Z printed on the folded front.

The brochure Alyssa’s mom gave her in childhood, now sitting on the hood of her very own 1990 Nissan 300ZX!

She framed that poster and wrapped it up as my birthday present that year. That poster hung in my bedroom growing up and later in my garage as I bought my first home many years later.

In 2020, my husband and I were sitting around one day and he showed me a 1990 300ZX TT, all original, with 40,000 miles for sale in silver about 10 miles from our house.

This was during the pandemic, so getting to see the vehicle was quite a feat but a few weeks later, that same Z was parked in our garage with that original poster from my childhood hanging proudly above it on the garage wall. There is a saying in the Z community that definitely rings true to enthusiasts like me, that being: “Last Letter, First Love.”

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Contributed by Alyssa Acosta

Photo: Personal photos of Alyssa Acosta

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This car feature is part of our 50 Cars for 50 Years campaign in honor of Berkley One Classics celebrating 50 year of insuring collectors and their vehicles. See the other cars we love here.

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Berkley One Classics is a Berkley Company who recognizes that classic cars are unique and require insurance that’s equally distinctive. Let us help you protect your beloved vehicle so you can enjoy it for years to come. Learn more here.