This £15k Nissan 300ZX turbo has an amazing digital dash

A 1984 Nissan 300ZX. Not just any 1984 Nissan 300ZX, but a 300ZX Turbo. Specifically, the 3.0-litre V6 turbo. In ‘50th Anniversary Edition’ specification.

This particular one is up for auction at RM Sotheby’s Essen sale – it’s part of the ‘Youngtimer’ collection which is just amazing, but different because it’s not an old high-performance German luxury saloon as most of the Youngtimer collection is comprised of.

And yet. Doesn’t it look wonderful? As ever with life, it’s what’s on the inside that counts…

Aside from the slightly flared arches, the aluminium wheels, lots of logos and a bonnet scoop? Um, the colour, which – as your eyes will confirm – is silver. And black. With a giant 'TURBO' badge on the side because it's got a turbo in it.

Welcome then, to peak, distilled Eighties. There is a “futuristic” digital dashboard showing many important things. Your speed in numbers! A rev counter represented by a graph! Fuel, temp, oil pressure and battery gauges with notches! A light for the cruise control!

It is simply magnificent. There’s even a range readout in the bottom right hand corner. Remember, this was 1984. The things those 300ZX drivers in 1984 must have thought. The future they must have imagined.

For today, not so much. For 1984, yes. Though the 3.0-litre turbo produced a very modest 200-ish horsepower, it’d do 62mph in under seven seconds and top out at just under 140mph.

It had a low drag co-efficient. It could apparently do a quarter mile in around 15 and a half seconds. It featured three-way adjustable shocks. And that engine – in race trim – could produce a helluva lot more power, too…

RM Sotheby’s reckons it’ll go for between $20k-$25k. This one’s an auto, mind. It was first registered in the US in 1984 – one of around 5,000 50th Anniversary Editions sold in the States – before moving on to the UAE in 2007. In 2017, it found its way into Switzerland, via the current owner.

It’s done 23,239 miles, so is practically brand new; a perfect capsule of what 1984 thought the future would look like. This, or something like a 1.4-litre Vauxhall Corsa (around £15k)?