As an enthusiast, I have an obligation to encourage you to get it in the good color. And if you’re really going for it, I must insist you get it in the goodest color. Buying an E46 M3? All colors are acceptable, but Laguna Seca Blue is the goodest color. If it’s an E36, then it’s Dakar Yellow. I don’t make the rules, nor do I enforce them.
Seriously, get any car in any color you want. That is your prerogative as a car buyer, and as someone who fiercely believes in automotive pluralism, that is your right. But there are good colors, and then there are goodest colors (David is driving the Mustang GTD today on the race track, giving me the ability to futz with grammar that would make his head explode if he was here).
If you’re buying a Nissan GT-R, the goodest color is obviously Midnight Purple. First debuting on the R33, it’s the one everyone wants. It’s the high-dollar one, and it’s probably because it feels perfect for that car. I think this is due to it having an extremely ’90s Japanese Bubble Era sheen to it. There’s something about the way it shifts from an ultra-aubergine to a rich black that really does it for me.
The Nissan Z has changed a lot over the years, and the current one is not bad. Even better, the high-performance Nismo version should be getting the manual transmission it’s long needed. Until that blessed day comes, Nissan has created a Heritage Edition for the 38th annual Z Car Convention.
Curiously, the company says it’s inspired by the 300ZX, which you can see in a few places:
From this profile, it’s not super obvious. At first, I thought it was a Black Gold tribute. The 19-inch Rays wheels do sort of mimic the five-spoke wheels that were popular on the Z32 generation 300ZX, but it’s only an echo of the original.
The little graphic on the side is somewhat better. The Z32–my favorite of all the Zs–had the TWIN TURBO graphics everywhere, because having a twin-turbo V6 was a big deal back then.
It’s a little more obvious from the rear as you get the TWIN TURBO badge on the black spoiler, which feels very Z32. The taillights themselves already have a bit of that, as you can see in this older press photo:
So why Midnight Purple? It’s an interesting choice. The best color on the 300ZX, and also the goodest color on the 300ZX, was obviously Ultra Red, as seen in the famous Super Bowl Ad:
But Midnight Purple is the best Nissan color, maybe ever. It is, for now, the goodest color you can get on a 2026 Nissan Z, and the color will cost you about $2,940 on top of the 2026 Nissan Z Performance grade base price, meaning the total cost for a car with the Heritage Edition package comes to $55,910.
People have paid a lot more for a good color, so $3,000 for the goodest color doesn’t seem outrageous to me. What are some other examples of cars with obviously goodest colors?
Top Photo: Nissan
I still think whoever came up w/ the idea of “upcharging” for whatever color of paint, should be punched in the face. If you buy a car, you should be able to choose whatever color you want! (I understand the reason behind it, doesn’t mean I have to like it)
Don’t get me wrong, I love purple on cars, but this color scheme screams “3rd Street Saints” from the Saints Row games.
I’m not a fan. The Z has its own history, color palette and historic graphic packages. I would have preferred to see the return of “Black Gold”!
Mazda’s Soul Red Crystal looks great on just about anything that makes it to the US. And I don’t usually like red, but their version is something else.
A neighbor had a Porsche 912 in a color close to BRG and it looked pretty classy.
Late ’60s M-B sedans in silver looked very lux.
Ok, Porsche de riguer colours:
Miami Blue
Cassis Red (a sort of pink colour… sometimes glimpsed in the wild)
Raspberry Red Metallic (It’s a pinkish red metallic that is brighter and pinker than Cassis Red – pink, but highlights lines even better than yellows. Amazing on 928)
Summer Yellow (1980s paint colour that looks like raw sulpher)
Acid Green
All Morgans(except the Aero), Lotuses, and Jags in British Racing Green.
Montana Green Metallic on the 2nd gen GTI is one of the great car colors of all time.
incorrect! the correct answer for goodest Nissan shade is Millenium Jade, with Midnight Purple a very, very, very, close 2nd goodest
Who would have thought that there’d be purple coupes from two different manufacturers this year!?
I bought the BRZ Series.Purple earlier this year, which similarly looks almost black in certain lighting. I love it.
Oof.
Oh yeah.
The Cream Yellow offered on the mid 90s Volvo 850 T5R, and Soul Red on any Mazda get the goodest vote from me.
Shame the manual Supra is just a better car in every metric.