James Dean, Paul Newman, Keanu Reeves, and Tom Cruise are all leading men in Hollywood with a real-life need for speed. Whether it’s doing their own stunts, owning racing teams, or jumping into the driver’s seat, these A-level actors have a reputation for adrenaline. Now, on Bring a Trailer, one lucky bidder has a chance to own a piece of Tom Cruise’s past, a 1984 Nissan 300ZX SCCA race car.
The car was initially built for SCCA Showroom Stock A competition by a racing team managed by Paul Newman and Bob Sharp. In 1987, Newman/Sharp Racing team recruited two new drivers, Bob Sharp’s son and a young Tom Cruise. Fast forward to 2004, and the current owner saves a worn-out Nissan 300ZX from a scrapyard only to discover its star-studded history. In 2006, the car received a bare metal repaint back to its original red, blue, and white livery.
Tom Cruise’s 1984 Nissan 300ZX race car looks brand new. It rolls on 15-inch alloy wheels wrapped in Road King Grenadier SE tires. Its 3.0-liter V6 is built up for racing with an aftermarket ECU, camshaft, HKS ignition, stainless steel exhaust, MSA throttle body, headers, and a lightweight flywheel and clutch. Inside, the Nissan’s cockpit sports a padded roll cage. A pair of red and black vinyl bucket seats with a Stroud multi-point harness keeps the driver safe. In addition, this race car features creature comforts like a black carpet and AM/FM cassette stereo.
At the time of this publication, the Bring a Trailer auction has less than five days to go with a current bid of $20K, which doesn’t seem like much for a fully-fledged rad-era race car driven by Tom Cruise. However, it is safe to assume that number will quickly escalate as the auction enters the final minutes.
In other automotive news, see the Bugatti Mistral.
