The Nissan Fairlady Z (Z33) — known to us in the UK as the Nissan 350Z — has always proved popular on the grey import market. Likely down to a combination of the multitude of trim levels and special editions exclusively available in Japan.

Along with the abundance of aftermarket modifications, great reviews, and the relatively cheap price tag compared to genuine UK 350Zs, this thoroughbred JDM muscle car was certainly one of the most imported Japanese cars in the 2000s and beyond.

But there is one variant that has remained elusive, a true automotive unicorn: the almost mythical Nismo S-Tune GT.

More than just a film star

It’s true that this particular version of Nissan’s famous 3.5-litre V6-powered coupe may look like a custom modified creation straight out of The Fast And The Furious: Tokyo Drift. But it had the distinction of being a true factory-modified special edition available directly from Nissan dealers. It also hit the streets a full year before that particular Hollywood blockbuster, no doubt providing plenty of inspiration for the hero cars in the movie.

Of course, it may also be true that, no matter the trim level or any association with the mighty Nissan Motorsports International, a 350Z may not be top of your list when you first think of legendary Nissan unicorns. Particularly as they’re still a relatively common sight on the streets in the UK. But when it comes to the S-Tune GT, it’s not just the thoroughly jaw-dropping spec that’s important; it’s all about the extreme rarity value.

Built by Nissan’s (equally legendary) performance arm in limited numbers, this 2005 model was put together to commemorate Nismo’s win in the 2004 All Japan GT Car Championship (JGTC). Like many special editions, and indeed top-of-the-range Nissan sportscars, such as the Skyline GT-R and Nissan Silvia (and not just Nissans; think Honda Civic Type R EK9, Subaru Impreza 22B and early Mitsubishi Lancer Evolutions), the S-Tune GT was never intended for sale outside of Japan.

After all, it’s something of a Japanese tradition to keep all the best stuff for the home market, isn’t it? But, even in the realm of grey imports, it’s almost unheard of for one of these to have left its homeland. This is partly because the S-Tune GT was rare and expensive in the first place, and partly because they were nearly all snapped up by specialist collectors… and even the odd car museum.

Beyond standard: the S1 spec

Unlike the ‘standard’ 350Z Nismo, which came along a few years later and sold in its thousands, the S-Tune GT was designed to closely resemble the championship-winning JGTC race cars. It came complete with a wild aero kit that made the car nearly six inches longer, wider front arches, functional rear brake cooling ducts and that massive double-wing rear spoiler.

So, it’s not what you’d call restrained. Maybe it’s all a bit OTT for most, but that was the whole point. You can’t be timid if you’re taking a muscle car racing, can you? And what’s more, all this aggression and purpose isn’t merely skin deep – let’s not forget that Nismo don’t do anything by halves. In fact, they went all out, fitting their G-Attack suspension, a huge brake setup (specially developed by Brembo), their most hardcore Nismo limited slip differential and fully forged, lightweight 19-inch wheels based on their LM GT4 race car rims.

Nismo also rebuilt the engine with a whole host of changes over the standard VQ35DE V6, fitting all sorts of goodies such as special high-lift cams, heavy-duty valve springs and forged internals, along with a Nismo high-flow exhaust and custom software. The result brought the V6 powerplant up to what Nismo call their ‘S1-Spec’ and pushes out around 300bhp.

In other words, then, the S-Tune is more than a slightly beefed-up production model with a rather nice set of Nismo-embossed Alcantara bucket seats. It’s one of the most complete special editions to ever leave the Nismo workshop. In fact, it’s also a huge testament to Nissan itself, because, with all this development, they sold hardly any at all. We’re not even sure if they made their money back!

Just how rare are they?

So, how about getting your hands on a Nismo S-Tune GT of your very own? Well, as we may have mentioned, this JDM-only special edition Z Car is rare… even in Japan, they’re not exactly two-a-penny.

Nismo only officially built 20 per month in 2004, but many sources suggest it was actually much less. So, if you can find one for sale in Japan, you’ll be extremely lucky. As you’d expect, they also command serious prices nowadays, fast approaching £100K at auction. And that’s quite a lot for a 350Z. Especially when there are so many, arguably more desirable, JDM icons to choose from.

But that’s not the only bad news. You probably won’t find one in the UK, either. As far as we’re aware, there’s only a single example that’s ever come to Britain, and it’s still owned by Nissan. In fact, if the number plate in the pictures looks familiar, it’s because every time you see the Nismo S-Tune GT tested on the TV, in a car magazine, on a UK website or your favourite YouTube channel, it’s this very car, direct from the Nissan Press Office.

This bizarre quirk only makes the S-Tune GT all the more unique. Simply because it was never officially imported for sale in the UK, but it WAS officially imported. Even if it was only a single example, that makes this iconic Fairlady an official JDM model that’s technically not a JDM model at all.

But even so, and aside from breaking out the Nismo parts catalogue and building your own, you’ve probably got more chance of winning the lottery than successfully getting one of these on your drive. And that’s exactly what makes the Nismo S-Tune GT not just one of the rarest and most iconic factory-modified Nissans, but a true JDM unicorn, too.

Then again, we guess you could always phone Nissan HQ in Sunderland and make them a cheeky offer. You never know, right?