Back in 1989, a little known car magazine called Fast Lane stumbled upon a circulation trick. Long before dedicated motoring channels and free CDs with Sunday newspapers, its pioneering editors included a free cassette tape. Not, as you may think, a collection of great "driving" music. Nor the Cars greatest hits, if such a thing exists.
In a year when Black Box advised us to Ride on Time and U2 sung of their Desire, we spent our time listening to a recording of various performance cars racing around the Donington racetrack in Britain. It starts with a short introduction by the driver, then an explosion of engine noise as you hear every gearchange, every engine peak, all to the beat of the screeching tyres.
This is deep anorak territory. Nevertheless, the overplayed cassette has held pride of place in our household for years. The sound of the Ferrari F40, the Porsche 911CS and the Audi Quattro in full song was as popular with us as any rock anthem or reggae beat.
Turning the key in the 350Z brought back memories of early teenage years we spent mimicking the track action in an old Mini, the aforementioned tape at full volume.
The 350Z's got the standard sporting looks, if a little too similar to the Audi TT: the single sweeping line, the low-slung seating and the wrap around interior.
But the most impressive feature of the 350Z is the deep-throated chorus that awaits you every time you blip the accelerator. It's the sort of sound that sends shivers down your spine - tuned to challenge the aural sensationalism of far superior supercars at double the Nissan's price.
Not all 3.5-litre engines sound this good; not by a long way. Nissan has clearly spent a great deal of time perfecting the engine note and its paid great dividends, for the acoustics are addictive.
Nevertheless, be it a well-tuned exhaust box or the perfectly tuned V6, all sports cars must offer more than sound and fury. There must be some performance as well.
The Nissan does not fail in this regard either. The engine is matched to a beautiful short-throw, well-sprung six-speed gearbox that's perfectly weighted to get the most out of the engine. While it's not the fastest car in its class in terms of the 0-62 mph sprint, there's only a matter of milliseconds involved and you are never left wanting. Certainly it sees off the sharpest TT on the market.
With a lion's roar it tears away with impressive wheel spin, the rear wheels wiggling the tail slightly and the horizon beckoning ever closer towards the windscreen. Before you know it the pursuing traffic are but blips in the rear mirror.
But then that's exactly what these cars are supposed to do. In terms of handling, while it doesn't quite feel as confident as its three German counterparts, the 350Z duly serves up informative steering through its leather steering wheel and weaves through bends with aplomb. The ride is not as jarring as you may expect from such a car and the only problem seems to be slightly skittish rear tail, the result of all that power feeding through the back wheels. However, a little counter steer and the addition of a little more power rectifies the problem and straightens things out.
The sharp-edged aggressive styling works well and characterises the driving experience pretty accurately - grippy, taut and predictable. It also can play safely in city traffic without being a burden.
The 350Z has been criticised for having an interior too similar to the more common fare from Nissan. And rightly so.
There's a profusion of rather brittle plastics and although they don't really turn you off the car, the likes of the central glovebox and sunglass holder don't feel worthy of a €64,000 car. The seats are low-slung and comfortable, but it's too easy to hit the centre buttons with your elbow and the shallow boot is open onto the cabin. This combines to make it difficult to load taller items and as you swing along country roads, there's an unnerving fear that some of your cargo could easily come flying into the cabin at any moment.
The 350Z is quite pricey, for all its performance and aggression. It is the most potent of the recent new arrivals, seeing off the likes of the Chrysler Crossfire or Mazda RX8, though both are significantly cheaper.It also has a history behind it, harking back to the legendary Datsun 240Z of 1969 and its a worthy of the Z badge.
We also fell for its untamed character that makes driving the 350Z an act of rebellion against the staid and mundane - just the sort of thing that attracts sports car owners to their steeds. It's fast, fun and undoubtedly selfish.
It's a welcome contender to the crown shared by the Z4 and Boxster, even if it's not up to their level as yet.
As for that sweet engine, it certainly singing from the same sheet as the two leaders and can challenge any music act. A week with the 350Z had us tuning out of the radiowaves and into the engine notes again.