My dear father always used to say, “If you’re going to do something, do it properly.” Clearly, Tor Håkon follows the same mantra — after a long line of BMWs, he bought his first Japanese car a few years ago, and what a car it is!
Ever since he was a kid, Tor dreamed of owning a Z32 Nissan 300ZX, but for years, it just remained a distant dream. That is, until he came across this pristine example, a 1996 two-seater U.S. model fitted with the twin-turbo engine.
This version is also 22 cm shorter than the 2+2 variant sold in Europe, and there’s no doubt that helps it look a bit meaner. Tor Håkon’s car also has enough power to leave some proper supercars in a cloud of tire smoke and road dust.
In other words, we’re talking about the automotive version of Napoleon syndrome here — short, but not to be messed with.
When Tor Håkon bought the car, DTA Motorsport in the Netherlands had already upgraded the engine. Under the hood, you’ll find a 3.0L V6 equipped with two Garrett GT2554R turbochargers, Stillen intercoolers, a Koyo radiator, 740cc injectors, and a Nismo oil cooler.
With 1.2 bar of boost, it now sends around 400 horsepower straight to the rear wheels. As we all know, with great power comes… well, tons of fun. However, according to the 41-year-old owner, it’s still not enough, so he’s currently working on a new engine and is constantly on the lookout for more upgrades and improvements.
Countless hours have gone into researching available performance parts and understanding the car’s strengths and weaknesses.
Even though he bought the car with a fully built engine, it was far from complete overall — in fact, everything else was nearly stock. As the saying goes, if you want something done right, you gotta do it yourself. A lot of time (and surely a fair amount of money) has been spent transforming this 300ZX into what it is today.
The first thing he did was install new brakes, as the stock ones weren’t exactly up to the task of handling 400 eager ponies.
If you look behind the wheels, you’ll see a set of Akebono calipers, the same type used on the Nissan 370Z Sport/Nismo. These complement the OEM+ style he’s going for and clamp down hard on the massive two-piece rotors. There’s no doubt that this is a huge improvement over the stock setup.
Even though Tor Håkon has always been a fan of the Nissan 300ZX, he still thinks they look a bit plain in stock form.
Since he loves the body shape and clean lines, he opted for an OEM+ look — essentially what he believes the car should have looked like from the factory. And I can’t deny that it looks absolutely stunning.
To achieve the right stance and improve handling in the corners, he installed K-Sport coilovers. This was an easy choice since they’re the only coilovers available with TÜV certification for the Z32 — but that’s only if they come from the German distributor. EU rules can be complicated!
For wheels, he went with Japanese WORK Meister L1-3Ps due to their classic design, and the gold finish provides the perfect contrast against the black paint. To ensure there’s enough clearance for the Akebono brakes while keeping the wheels tucked nicely under the fenders, the rims were custom-ordered.
Up front, they measure 9.5×19 and are wrapped in 245/30 Michelin Pilot 4S tires. According to the owner, these tires are a bit too narrow, so once they wear out, he’ll replace them with something even wider.
At the rear, the wheels are 10.5×19, with monstrous 295/25-19 tires. Some discreet fender rolling and massaging was needed in order to avoid the wheels rubbing.
Discreet is also the keyword for the rest of the car’s exterior modifications. Someone unfamiliar with the 300ZX might not even notice that the Twinz side skirts, Eightless front spoiler, and ZthirtyTwo carbon cowl cover are aftermarket additions.
Other than that, the exterior remains stock, and The owner has no plans to change anything else.
Inside, you’ll find a few AEM gauges, but everything else is original. After all, if it isn’t broken, why fix it? The interior is a comfortable place to be, and the seats still provide enough bolstering to keep the driver in place during spirited driving — I have a feeling this beast gets driven properly.
If you want to follow the progress of Tor Håkon’s Nissan 300ZX, you can follow him on Instagram.
