Yutaka Katayama passed on February 19th, 2015, after a long and full life—he was 105. “Mr. K” was the person most responsible for bringing the Z car to market. It is beyond the purview of this blog to head back to the original and groundbreaking 240Z, but we can take a look at the second-generation 280-ZX.
“It’s Black. It’s Gold. And it is awesome.”
For 1980, the 280-ZX received a ‘T’ bar roof and a new digital clock for the GL version, but Datsun otherwise mostly stood pat for the standard car. There were five new colors available.
Power continued to be provided by the L28E 135 bhp 2.8 liter/168 ci V6 with multi-port fuel injection. Car and Driver recorded a 0-60 time of 9.4 seconds in the 2,970-pound coupe—reasonably competitive in 1980. The top speed was about 117 mph.
With the standard five-speed manual transmission, EPA fuel economy ratings were 21 city/31 highway by 1980 standards. Moving to the three-speed automatic transmission significantly impacted mileage—ratings on the sticker were 19/26. With a 21.2-gallon gas tank, an owner of a manual-equipped 280ZX could expect an impressive range of 405 to 445 miles with a 10% fuel reserve.
Standard exterior and mechanical equipment on the $9,899 280-ZX Deluxe (about $41,800 in 2025 dollars or about what a current Nissan Z Sport starts at) included tinted glass, a power antenna, a four-wheel independent suspension, four-wheel power disc brakes, rack-and-pinion steering, and P195/75HR14 tires (a size still readily available) on 14-inch steel disc wheels. Inside, a six-way driver’s seat with lumbar support, a quartz sweephand clock, and an AM/FM stereo radio with three speakers were standard.
Stepping up to the $12,238 Grand Luxury (GL) added a ‘T’ bar roof, a rear window wiper/washer, power recirculating ball steering, and aluminum alloy wheels. Inside, Datsun added cruise control, fully integrated air conditioning, a quartz digital clock, a lockable hidden storage compartment, a six-way adjustable seat with lumbar adjustment for the passenger, and an AM/FM stereo radio with four speakers and surround sound control.
Special Editions & Options
For 1980, there was also a 10th Anniversary Edition (auto manufacturers were beginning to become aware that anniversary cars could really bring the buyers) available in two different two-tones: either Thunder Black and Rallye Red or Thunder Black and Golden Mist Metallic. The 10th Anniversary Edition went for $13,850—about $59,700 in today’s dollars, or almost exactly what a 2026 Nissan Z Heritage Edition goes for.
Standard exterior and mechanical equipment on the loaded 10th Anniversary Edition included everything on the GL, along with the aforementioned two-tone paint, special badging, headlamp washers, and Goodyear Wingfoot radial tires on alloy wheels with colored inserts. Inside, a limited edition numbered plaque, automatic heating and air conditioning, leather six-way bucket seats, a Hitachi AM/FM stereo radio with cassette, and power windows were included. Period window stickers show no options for the 10th Anniversary Edition.
Exterior and mechanical options for the “normal” 280-ZX included a blackout package (Deluxe), mag-style cast aluminum wheels (Deluxe), two-tone paint (GL), and rear window shade louvers (of course). Buyers could add fully integrated air conditioning (Deluxe), leather seating surfaces (GL), a CB one-hand mic system, and the usual cassette and 8-track stereo choices to the interior.
Production Numbers & Period Reviews
Overall production numbers for the 280-ZX were impressive—Nissan reported 53,687 sold for the 1980 model year. Interestingly, 1980 was the worst year of five for the 280-ZX—86,007 were sold in 1979. Of the 1980 sales, 3,000 were the 10th Anniversary Edition—2,500 black/gold and 500 black/red.
Contemporary reviews were glass-half-full. Car and Driver‘s tagline was “A Japanese Corvette,” and they talked about Datsun discreetly following Chevrolet in terms of price and features. The new ‘T’ bar roof was generally liked for both its availability and its execution—as Popular Mechanics stated, this was the “closest the car would come to being a convertible.”
The View From 2025
There is good club support for the 280-ZX, though not quite at the level available for the now-classic original 240Z. According to Hagerty’s valuation tools, all the money for a 1980 280-ZX coupe in #1/Concours condition is $84,400, with a more typical number #3/Good condition car going for $13,200. 280-ZXs often appear in the Hemming’s Motor News classifieds, on eBay Motors, and on Bring a Trailer.
Lord help me, I would like one in the black and gold two-tone …
Other Datsuns I have written about include the 1980 200-SX coupe and the 1981 810 Maxima sedan. Later Nissans I have posted on include the 1984 300ZX hatchback coupe and the 1989 Maxima sedan.
Last updated in September 2025.
Eighties Cars 
The ’80-’82 Z cars were some of my favorites, despite being heavier.
Thanks for your comment – I always liked these cars, too. Datsun gets credit for recognizing that the market had changed from the original 240Z.