Nissan 350Z

A car that sits 496th for power in a 600 car catalogue would not normally be expected to climb to 414th for top speed. That mismatch is the key to understanding the Nissan 350Z. Its 306 bhp output places it well down the table, yet a 250 km/h maximum speed pulls it noticeably ahead of where the headline power figure alone might suggest. Rather than chasing ever larger numbers, it presents a more balanced interpretation of performance, one that also reaches 100 km/h from rest in 5.5 seconds.

The figures behind that balance are straightforward. A naturally aspirated 3.5 litre V6 sends 364 Nm through a rear wheel drive layout, all within a two seat coupe. Only 51 cars in the catalogue use a V6, just 22 combine that configuration with rear wheel drive, and only 8 pair a naturally aspirated V6 with driven rear wheels. Those numbers matter because they show how narrow this particular combination has become across the wider collection. The engineering choices are not unusual in isolation, but their overlap is.

Price changes the conversation again. At around £12,000 used, the 350Z sits 589th out of 600 for cost, making it more expensive than only 11 other cars here. More importantly, it is the least expensive V6 in the catalogue, with a cost of £39 per bhp. That makes it an unusual entry point into a layout that is otherwise consistently dearer. Within the 48 Japanese cars represented, and among the 10 Nissans included, it occupies a distinctly practical position without relying on inflated claims or artificial rarity.

Its acceleration ranking, 505th of 600, confirms that this is not the catalogue's answer to outright pace. The top speed ranking shows that outright power is not the whole story either. Together they describe a car engineered around a measured blend of outputs rather than dominance in any single statistic.

Living with that choice means accepting a clear trade off. There are faster accelerating cars, more powerful cars, and cheaper cars elsewhere in the collection. The reward is a rare naturally aspirated V6 with rear wheel drive, available at the lowest entry price for that engine layout. That decision leaves a collection with one less headline figure to chase, but one more distinct mechanical idea to preserve.