Pushing the switch allows the smile to stretch across your face and the 287bhp naturally aspirated 3.5-litre V6 to spin a pair of ultra-sticky Bridgestone RE 040 18-inch tyres just long enough to get you to motorway speeds. Our test car felt quicker than 5.5 seconds to 60mph, quicker than a Porsche Boxster S. Remember that smile because it's the only part of the new Z-car other than the hatchback that has been carried over from the 1970 original.

Yes, there's potential to add a turbocharger at some point. Yes, you can scour the Nismo (Nissan Motorsports parts) catalogue and bolt on stainless braided brake lines. Nissan now knows enough to let you create some of your own fun, so it has priced this pure sports car at just US$26,809 to start, and left parts of it deliberately unfinished (more later). Sales of the 350Z in the US and the JDM ( modern kid lingo for Japanese Domestic Market) were due to start this month. And the word at the US launch was that the company plans to sell RHD cars in the UK by late December. Merry Christmas.

The new 350Z is based on the 'FM' rear-drive platform that spawned the new Jag S-Type-size Infiniti G35, which helps keep the price down. The 104-inch wheelbase is nine inches longer than a Boxster's, but the Z is an inch shorter overall. The Z uses the 3.5-litre twin-cam V6 with very trick continuously variable valve timing from the Infiniti, but adds 27 horsepower by opening-up the intake and exhaust. It's a screamer.

It was designed by a combination of stylists from the US and Japan, after much agonising about whether to make it look retro like the original Z of 1970 or whether to make it modern, with the latter winning out. Underneath, it has multiple, pretty, sculpted aluminum suspension links like the immediately preceding 300ZX model (which died in 1996), but adds simple electronic dynamic and traction controls instead of the expensive and complex HICAS rear-wheel steering. It's also very bare-bones inside, no more luxurious than a basic rental car.
For the US market there will be a handful of different models, so pay attention here: the base car - notable by its smaller 17-inch wheels and tyres - gets the same engine, terrific six-speed manual and the same suspension tuning as the most expensive model. That's because Nissan is hoping fervent car enthusiasts in the US who love the sporty Sentra SE-R saloon will take night jobs to get into a Z.

Next level up and first with a five-speed automatic is the 'Enthusiast' model, which adds brighter headlamps, traction control, and a viscous limited-slip diff. Given that Nissan believes 80 per cent of all Z-cars will sell in the colonies, there's also cruise control and a fancy dimming rear-view mirror for long stretches on Interstate 40.

Next is a 'Performance' model with just the six-speed, adding stability control, tyre pressure monitor, and 18-inch tyres - this one's priced at US$30,969. Then there's a 'Touring' model for fat cats, which includes everything mentioned plus leather, heated power seats and mirrors, plus a monster 240-watt Bose stereo, but no stability control. Finally there's a 'Track' model that has three underbody pans, a rear lip spoiler, and a front spoiler that Nissan claims lowers front and rear lift to zero, and lowers drag from Cd 0.30 to 0.29. The 'Track' also uses Rays alloys, which are 8.8lb lighter each than the 18-inch rims of the Touring and Performance models. You'll never feel the difference because the brake discs are thicker on the 'Track', squeezed by twin-piston Brembo callipers. The 'Track' model has no leather and no Bose stereo, and tops the price list at US$34,619 (a tantalising ί¿½23,000 as a straight conversion, though as we know, it never happens quite like that...).

The V6 revs easily, and compared with a Honda VTEC unit there's no kick-in-the-back anywhere along the Z's rev- range. Nissan claims maximum torque of 274lb ft at 4800rpm, but there's 200lb ft available at just 1300rpm, and the climb to maximum is completely linear.

On the road the new Z feels light and stiff. The Bridgestones rumble and let you know the size and intensity of each impact. The suspension is tuned like a racer's, and your head rocks sideways on bumps at all speeds. Your granny would hate it. Where you really feel the ride of the Z is deep in your densest internal organs as they swish around beneath your ribcage on ripples and ridges. This car is so alive it can change your biological rhythms.

Nearing the limits in corners, the Z squats down and stays planted, giving you the feeling the dampers are one-way valves. The handling balance feels neutral, too, resisting understeer. The steering feels slower than that of a Boxster - you can't telepath your way from lane to lane like you can with the German car, you actually have to turn the wheel of the Z.

About the unfinished pieces of the new Z-car: during development a vibration appeared in the shift lever at about 4500 rpm. Nissan had a choice to fix the vibration, which left the shift linkage feeling slightly more numb than planned, or leave it alone. Nissan chose the latter, because the company says it wants to appeal to the basic enthusiast. Trust us, you'll be too busy watching the tachometer as the needle rips by 4500rpm to notice any vibration. Next, the exhaust note from the two massive round pipes sounds non-distinctive, like the roar of a Viper instead of the rasp of a Maranello or even a MX5. Nissan says it could have tuned out the major contribution to this dull roar, which was the engine's stiff engine mountings, thereby creating a sweeter sound. Instead, the company chose to keep the stiff engine mounts because in corners the shifting weight of the V6 on soft mounts subtracted from the precise cornering feel of the car.

Two more details: the gearshift action feels squishy soft on fore/aft moves, yet the sides are hard for quick left/right moves; the driver's seat has been specially shaped in the under-thigh area to facilitate heel/toe manoeuvres. Yes, these folks are on our side, not the poseur's side.