The New Nissan 370Z, Smart Compact Sport Car

The Nissan Z, a car with more the 40-years of history. The Nissan Z started life in 1969 as a lean, beautiful sports purist, only to die slowly of obesity over the following decades, the victim of ham-fisted efforts to appeal to Americans.

Seven years ago, Nissan revived the name with a car that returned it to its roots. The Nissan 350Z was lean, uncompromising chunk of sporting purism. It was relatively light – just over 1,500 kg. And powerful, with a 3.5 liter V6 good for 206kW and a sub six-second 0 to 100 km/h dash. Inside, the Nissan 350Z was 21st century smart, safe and well put together. And, like the original, while it wasn't cheap it was something like affordable.

Most importantly, it was raw -gruff at the tailpipe, hard on the bum. Just to show they meant sporting business, they stuck a stinking big strut brace thing through the middle of the boot to stiffen up the rear end. The result: flat cornering at speed with bugger all usable boot space. What a statement of intent.

Now comes the next generation. As the new Nissan 370Z's change in name suggests, the engine's bigger at 3.7 liters, and more powerful. It's now good for an imposing 245kW and 363 Nm – plenty of grunt for a car weighting in at pretty much the same as the model it replaces.

What makes the Nissan 370Z special this time round, too, is the way they've equipped it. No two-tiered offering this time round. With the Nissan 370Z, you get the lot. And the new Nissan 370Z costs less than the upper-spec Track version of the outgoing Nissan 350Z. The only option this time round is metallic or premium paint.

The new Nissan 370Z is shorter and wider, too, so it handles even better. And they've given the body enough inherent rigidity to dispense with that intrusive strut.