THE 350Z isn’t your typical Nissan. When it first went on sale in the UK three years ago the entire year’s supply sold out in one hour!

For the best part of a year, second-hand examples traded hands for a premium. Buyers were desperate to get their hands on one.

This year is the 350Z’s swansong.

Soon it will be replaced by the similar-looking 370Z with a larger engine and a few styling tweaks.

But the old slugger isn’t going down without a fight.

Nissan has continuously fiddled with the 350Z over its lifetime so the newer the car the better it is.

The biggest change was a couple of years ago, when they dropped in a completely new engine from an Infiniti coupe (that’s the posh badge Nissan uses in some markets, a bit like Lexus is to a Toyota) and altered the dampers to suit.

For 2009, Nissan’s engineers have tweaked a fair bit more power from the grunty 3,498cc six-cylinder engine.

Peak horsepower is now 313bhp – a significant hike over the original’s 280bhp – and there’s a little more torque to match.

Nissan reckons the tweaks slice a tenth off the 0-62mph time with no fuel-consumption penalty. The top speed is limited to 155mph, so there’s no difference in top end between this 350Z and the first ones.

Performance is outstanding, especially from 4,500rpm to the elevated 7,500rpm, when the 350Z is a Porsche-chasing piece of street art.

The chunky six-speed gearbox needs a manly shove but never misses a ratio and the steering (uncorrupted by frontwheel drive) communicates precisely what’s going on beneath the low-profile tyres.

The attention to detail is carried through inside. For instance, the instrument clocks have silver rings on the back as well as the front, even though you can’t see them!

It’s not over endowed with gizmos, although the 20-watt Bose stereo deserves a mention for its chunky subwoofer and noise-compensation technology, but who needs loads of techno trickery when the basics are so damn right?

Having said that, the 350Z was the first car to come with a cassette player as well as a radio and a six-CD autochanger for at least a couple of years.

A hard drive and an iPod dock would be a better bet, something that is sure to feature on the 370Z when it arrives, no doubt.

Extra kit fitted to the test car included the handy satellite navigation system with TMC for real-time alerts of traffic jams up ahead.

For £1,200 I’d have expected the maps to be more up-todate, though. For instance, they didn’t see the new Darlington cross-town route and had the car ploughing through green fields to the insistant message ‘perform a Uturn as soon as it is safe’.

Also, the 12-volt accessory socket is a long way from the front of the car, sited behind your shoulder. I couldn’t stretch the power cable for my speed camera detector far enough to run the device – a serious problem for the weakwilled in a car as powerful as the 350Z!

The metallic paint job adds £460 to the list price but the Nissan looks great in gunmetal grey.

A 350Z may look quite practical but don’t be fooled.

There’s only room for two people and the boot has a massive great strut bisecting the space. Mind you, that strut does contribute to the car’s outstanding flex-free chassis which resists cornering forces like a good ‘un, pulling through a corner completely flat whatever the speed you’ve chosen. It’s the price you pay for tremendous performance.

Six airbags are present and correct to keep you breakable bits off the interior in the event of a big shunt.

The original 350Z only came with traction control. As you’d expect, the new models feature a full electronic stability programme as well.

Electronic brakeforce distribution monitors your reactions and slams on the anchors if it reckons you are trying to do an emergency stop but wasting valuable nano seconds by pussy-footing around.

In fact, pussyfooting around is the last thing this car needs. If you don’t take the 350Z by the scruff of the neck it bucks and snarls.

The clutch snaps off from a standstill, giving a jerky getaway, and the gearbox feels recalcitrant unless you give it a firm shove.

Drive with a more positive frame of mind and the car’s response smooths out, producing an almost relaxing ride and a far more enjoyable drive.

Compared with a Porsche, the asking price makes it a performance car bargain, but the 350Z has a supercar thirst (you’ll be lucky to see 20mpg in town) and the emissions put it top of the Chancellor’s road tax hit list.

But then, as I said at the start, the 350Z is no ordinary Nissan.

Its forerunners, the 240Z and the 300ZX, are both considered sports car classics by those in the know. I see no reason why the 350Z shouldn’t join that exhalted company.

Buy one now before they are all gone.

Specification

Engine: 3,498cc V6 all aluminium
Max power: 313PS @ 6,800rpm
Max torque: 358Nm @ 4,800rpm
Max speed: 155mph
0-62mph: 5.7 seconds
Fuel consumption: 24.1mpg combined (16.8mpg around town)
Exhaust emissions: 280g/km CO2
Equipment: Shift-up indicator light, trip computer, oil pressure gauge, volt meter, power windows with one touch operation, climate control, tonneau cover, 240W Bose radio/cassette with 6-CD autochanger, Bluetooth phone integration, heated leather seats, lockable rear luggage box, two parcel boxes, antilock brakes, ESP with traction control, front, side and curtain airbags, cruise control.