--- title: "The New Nissan Leaf Has a Bunch of 300ZX Easter Eggs" date: "2025-12-25" modified: "2025-12-25" authors: - name: "Joel Feder" job_title: "Director of Content and Product" link: "https://www.thedrive.com/authors/joel-feder" url: "https://www.thedrive.com/news/the-new-nissan-leaf-has-a-bunch-of-300zx-easter-eggs" categories: - "News" - "News by Brand" - "Nissan News" tags: - "Coupe" - "Electric Vehicle" - "sports car" - "suv/crossover" --- # The New Nissan Leaf Has a Bunch of 300ZX Easter Eggs ![2026 Nissan Leaf and 1990 Nissan 300ZX]() *\Joel Feder\  * The blue 1990 Nissan 300ZX (Z32) you see above lives in my garage. Meanwhile, the [2026 Nissan Leaf]() next to it was my test car for a week. As the days went on and I looked more closely, I realized that there was a lot of design influence from the Z32 that carried over into the [second-generation Leaf](). Interesting, and frankly, a bold choice. Good job, Nissan. Let's take a look. ![2026 Nissan Leaf and 1990 Nissan 300ZX]() ![2026 Nissan Leaf and 1990 Nissan 300ZX]() ![2026 Nissan Leaf]() ![1990 Nissan 300ZX]() ![1990 Nissan 300ZX]() ![2026 Nissan Leaf]() ![2026 Nissan Leaf and 1990 Nissan 300ZX]() At a surface level, the obvious design connection between the two is the shape of the taillights. The Z32's taillights clearly inspire the LED oval outlines on the Leaf. The horizontal elements on the EV are akin to the Z32's running, brake, and turn signals, while the upright ovals are similar to the Z32's reverse lights, i.e., shorter. Looking beyond the lights themselves, the Leaf has Nissan spelled out in letters on a black plastic panel between the taillights. This is a direct grab from the Z32, which also has 300ZX spelled out on a black plastic panel between its taillights. The Z32 even had the word "Nissan" spelled out on its rear end, though it was smaller on the upper-left side of the hatch. The Leaf has this, with the model name spelled out on the lower left of the hatch. Sitting above all this is a third brake light at the center of the hatch lip on both the Z32 300ZX and Leaf. ![2026 Nissan Leaf and 1990 Nissan 300ZX]() ![2026 Nissan Leaf and 1990 Nissan 300ZX]() ![2026 Nissan Leaf]() ![1990 Nissan 300ZX]() ![2026 Nissan Leaf and 1990 Nissan 300ZX]() I was more surprised to see the less-obvious design influences on the front end of the Leaf. The shape of the Leaf's LED headlight housing is a horizontal rectangle, matching that of the Z32 300ZX's high beams, which are a horizontal rectangle set just inside the projector-style low beams. The earlier Z32 300ZX models had what many referred to as "the mustache," with the middle of the front bumper featuring a black plastic surround around the running and driving lights. This area was painted on some later models. The Leaf has a version of this with black plastic trim that connects the LED headlight housings across the front end, bottom-to-top, forming a loop. ![Nissan 300ZX and Z I Photography by Alex Bellus Photography]() ![2026 Nissan Leaf]() Much more subtle is the design nod to the 300ZX inside the Leaf's cabin. It's not common for a modern car to have cloth used as trim on the dashboard and doors, but the Leaf does. The 300ZX used cloth on its dashboard, doors, and center console. The cloth material obviously isn't the same, but if inspected, the Leaf does have a fine tweed-like finish, and the cloth used in the 300ZX was tweed. Recently, I learned that Nissan had some of the engineers who worked on the latest Z move over to work on the Leaf. The EV arrived with an 80% stiffer structure and 25% less vibrations than the outgoing Leaf, according to Nissan. Claims that are somewhat hard to verify without backing up the two cars. Looking at the new Z, the 300ZX in my garage, and the Leaf tells me that Nissan's finally looking back to its glory days from the '90s for inspiration. Even the Xterra is coming back, and the Pathfinder might revert to a body-on-frame chassis. If this is the path Nissan's on, then count me in. *Got a tip about a vehicle design incorporating throwback elements? Send us a line at tips@thedrive.com* ## Author Overseeing what you see, read, touch, hear, and interact with from the vast lakes of Minnesota, Joel Feder shapes how The Drive looks and operates as the head of content and product initiatives. On a daily basis, Joel leads the newsroom and editorial staff playing point on both short-term coverage and long-term strategic plans. His mission is to help ensure The Drive shapes the future of automotive media by helping the team execute original reporting, breaking news, and exclusive opportunities. Regarded as an industry insider and recognized by colleagues, fellow journalists, and manufacturers as a point-person and leader in the industry, Joel owns and runs the largest automotive professionals group on Facebook in an effort to serve and help others. Joel serves as a juror for the World Car Awards. In addition, he is the board chair and chair of the governance and nominating committee for Move Forward MN, a local non-profit that helps at-risk youth with barrier-free mental health and housing services. While you’re reading this he’s either on his computer or iPhone chasing the latest news or drafting a story. ### Author social links [Instagram]() [LinkedIn]() [Bluesky]() [Email]()