NISSAN 350Z

OVERLOOKED AND UNDERRATED BY THE MARKET, THE 350Z'S TIME WILL SURELY COME. HERE'S THE STORY BEHIND A TRUE MODERN CLASSIC

- ANDY ENRIGHT

As far as hackneyed sales slogans go, ‘now is the time to buy’ has to be right up there. But just as a broken watch is correct twice a day, once in a while, now is indeed the right time to put your hand in your pocket for something. When that something is a Nissan 350Z, it’s worth examining that claim in a little more detail.

Most mainstream enthusiast cars follow a typical value curve. They start bullishly when they’re the fashion item du jour, before falling sharply. Aft er around seven years, the curve levels off. They’ve fallen from favour, they’re long out of warranty, and their images have been tarnished as a result of falling into the hands of the wrong sort of owners who can afford the asking price but not the cost of upkeep. It’s all very familiar.

From there, though, interesting and oft en unpredictable things can happen. Many cars trundle along in the bargain basement, falling into the category of rare but nobody cares: Ford Probe, Hyundai Coupe, Chrysler Crossfire. Then there are the shooting stars that everybody regrets missing out on when they were languishing in the bargain basement: cars like the BMW E30 M3, Mazda FD RX-7 and Toyota Supra RZ.

Between these two extremes are the more interesting vehicles where there’s every reason to expect prices to pick up but, for one reason or another, that’s yet to happen. Among these cars you could nominate the Alfa GTV, the original Audi TT, the Honda Prelude VTEC and the car we’re running the rule over here, the Nissan 350Z.