Nissan Maxima Turns 40, Gets the Birthday Treatment [UPDATED]

Tim Healey
by Tim Healey

Nissan’s Maxima turns 40 this year.

“This year” is a tricky statement, of course, since the year of production isn’t necessarily the same as the model year, but whether you mark it from the beginning of production in 1980 or the first model year in 1981, either way you slice it, the Maxima is hitting the big 4-0.

And Nissan is marking the milestone with a special edition package. Naturally.

The limited-edition package will only be available on top-trim Platinum models, and it will include: two-tone exterior with gray paint and a black roof, 19-inch gloss black aluminum wheels, black exterior finishes and badges, a 40th anniversary badge, black exhaust finishers, red leather seats with 40th anniversary embossing, red interior stitching, dark chrome interior finishes, white gauge faces for the speedometer and tachometer, and heated rear seats.

Otherwise, the car remains powered by the same 300-horsepower, 3.5-liter V6 that mates to a continuously-variable automatic transmission.

Forty candles on the cake. That’s a big number for an automobile model, especially one that now sits in the weird limbo that is the large sedan class. The original four-door sports car marks four decades, but will it make five? The Maxima’s class has shrunk, due in part to the crossover craze.

The future is cloudy and hazy, even for the best-selling models. So that question will be answered in time. For now, the eight-generation car soldiers on.

If you’re a true Nissan buff and you want this car, best hurry. Nissan’s media materials don’t mention a build target, but limited-edition usually does mean just that, despite the old Seinfeld routine of “limited” meaning “limited to how many they can sell.”

Update: We had reached out to Nissan for a production number before publication. They got back to us a bit after the post went live with the planned number: 1,100 units.

Act fast if you feel the need to celebrate four decades of Maxima.

[Image: Nissan]

Tim Healey
Tim Healey

Tim Healey grew up around the auto-parts business and has always had a love for cars — his parents joke his first word was “‘Vette”. Despite this, he wanted to pursue a career in sports writing but he ended up falling semi-accidentally into the automotive-journalism industry, first at Consumer Guide Automotive and later at Web2Carz.com. He also worked as an industry analyst at Mintel Group and freelanced for About.com, CarFax, Vehix.com, High Gear Media, Torque News, FutureCar.com, Cars.com, among others, and of course Vertical Scope sites such as AutoGuide.com, Off-Road.com, and HybridCars.com. He’s an urbanite and as such, doesn’t need a daily driver, but if he had one, it would be compact, sporty, and have a manual transmission.

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  • Speedlaw Speedlaw on Sep 24, 2020

    CVT in an alleged performance car ? Stopped reading right there. The Maxima exists as an upsell for an Altima intender....I see one a year and still ask why....

  • Raymond Dolan Raymond Dolan on Oct 10, 2022

    How do we know where in the production number our cars were made? Line 1 or 1100… thank you.

  • Mikey My late wife loved Mustangs ..We alway rented one while travelling . GM blood vetoed me purchasing one . 3 years after retirement bought an 08 rag top, followed by a 15 EB Hard top, In 18 i bought a low low mileage 05 GT rag with a stick.. The car had not been properly stored. That led to rodent issues !! Electrical nightmare. Lots of bucks !! The stick wasn't kind to my aging knees.. The 05 went to a long term dedicated Mustang guy. He loves it .. Today my garage tenant is a sweet 19 Camaro RS rag 6yl Auto. I just might take it out of hibernation this weekend. The Mustang will always hold a place in my heart.. Kudos to Ford for keeping it alive . I refuse to refer to the fake one by that storied name .
  • Ajla On the Mach-E, I still don't like it but my understanding is that it helps allow Ford to continue offering a V8 in the Mustang and F-150. Considering Dodge and Ram jumped off a cliff into 6-cylinder land there's probably some credibility to that story.
  • Ajla If I was Ford I would just troll Stellantis at all times.
  • Ronin It's one thing to stay tried and true to loyal past customers; you'll ensure a stream of revenue from your installed base- maybe every several years or so.It's another to attract net-new customers, who are dazzled by so many other attractive offerings that have more cargo capacity than that high-floored 4-Runner bed, and are not so scrunched in scrunchy front seats.Like with the FJ Cruiser: don't bother to update it, thereby saving money while explaining customers like it that way, all the way into oblivion. Not recognizing some customers like to actually have right rear visibility in their SUVs.
  • MaintenanceCosts It's not a Benz or a Jag / it's a 5-0 with a rag /And I don't wanna brag / but I could never be stag
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