20 Years Later, No. 75 Nissan 300ZX Coming Out of Retirement
Nissan is celebrating the 20th anniversary of the No. 75 Nissan 300ZX winning the 24 Hours of Le Mans IMSA GTS class, the 12 Hours of Sebring, and the 1994 IMSA GTS Drivers’ and Manufacturers’ Championship by putting driver Nick Millen back behind the wheel at the 2014 Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion at Laguna Seca Raceway from August 14 through 17. And, no, this isn’t some set-the-pace, soak-in-the-moment prestige run. The No. 75 Nissan 300ZX will be competing, and it will be competing to win.
“From the original 1994 Le Mans inspection sticker to the twin-turbo V6 and Nissan 5-speed Hewland crashbox, the No. 75 is the real deal, and we can’t wait to see it back on the track at speed with Steve Millen at the controls,” said Pierre Loing, vice president, Product Planning, Nissan North America, Inc. “It’s also fitting that it will be sharing the paddock space with our new 600-horsepower Nissan GT-R NISMO – which might just give the No. 75 a run for the money today.”
The No. 75 Nissan 300ZX will first get back into the swing with practice runs later this month at Willow Springs Raceway. From there, it’s on to on-track practice and qualifying on August 14 and 15, and then the big event.
Millen, who now runs STILLEN aftermarket performance parts, has worked closely with Nissan in the 20 years since that successful season. Millen was forced to retire from competition in 1996 after an accident at Road Atlanta in 1995.
“The past 20 years have flown by like they were 24 hours, so getting back behind the wheel of the No. 75 with the support of many of the original team members will be like stepping into a time machine,” said Millen. “People might forget that this car was so dominant in 1994 that IMSA banned its twin-turbo V6 engine. I think we’ve got a great chance to bring it into Victory Lane one more time against some other amazing race cars at Laguna Seca. I can’t wait.”
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