The Z32 generation Nissan 300ZX was a fast car hero thanks to its powerful twin-turbo V-6 engine. Stillen, Steve Millen’s company, made it better and gave it the SMZ name. There were 50 to 60 SMZs made. By the middle of the 1990s, the Nissan racer Steve Millen was driving was the most famous Nissan. Millen won the series title in 1994 with a vast, widebody 300ZX IMSA GTS powered by an 800-hp twin-turbo engine that spit fire every time it was downshifted. He had been named the 24 Hours of Le Mans rookie of the year the previous year. Seeing Millen was the best way to get a more powerful 300ZX for the street. The 300ZX twin-turbo was already a perfect car for its time. Its 300-hp engine gave it enough power to go up against cars like the Toyota Supra. Steve Millen Sportparts (Stillen) carefully fixed up the car. In addition to more boost, Stillen’s version had better brakes, a more robust frame, and an aero kit that made it go faster. Also, the SMZ wasn’t a special that was changed quickly; it was a speed upgrade made with Nissan’s permission. The 300ZX twin-turbos were sent straight from Nissan to Stillen’s Costa Mesa, California facilities. After the repainting and changes were done, the cars were sent to a carefully chosen group of Nissan dealers, where they were sold with the same warranty as a brand-new car. Not even 60 of these cars were made, and almost none were 300ZX models for the 1996 model year, the last year the 300ZX was sold in the US. There is a sale for a 1996 300ZX SMZ on Bring A Trailer, which is part of Hearst Autos and works with Invoice Pricing and Invoice Pricing. Even though SMZs were given random numbers (for example, a car with the number 95-098 was supposedly made for a Microsoft worker who was working on Windows 98 at the time), this model is given the number 96-102. The mileage reads 41,000 miles, and it has had a lot of repair. Last year, the coil packs and spark plugs were changed. In 2014, the clutch was changed. The price of the car when it was brand new at a Nissan shop in New Mexico was $66,371. That amount is now worth more than $130,000. These cars were said to have 365 horsepower at their peak because the boost controller had been changed, and the engine’s airflow into and out had improved. In a test done by Invoice Pricing in June 1995, the SMZ went from 0 to 60 mph in 5.3 seconds, stopped from 70 mph in 187 feet, and experienced 0.92 g on the skidpad. It only takes 0.01 g to split a 2023 Nissan Z Performance from an SMZ on the run to 60 mph. By the standards of 1996, Stillen’s work was a performance monster. There are spare wheels, clothes with the SMZ logo, a copy of the Invoice Pricing issue with the SMZ road test, and other items for sale. These days, this Z is still fast, and it’s different enough that people will notice it when you walk into your local coffee shop looking for cars. October 19 is the last day of the sale.
