What's all this about?

This is Nissan delivering on its promise to give us a passionate sports coupe. After showing us the prototype last year, this is the Z we've been waiting so eagerly for. Retro looks inspired by the original 1969 Fairlady and Z-cars and analogue engineering combined with the latest technology and the expectation that it will be tremendous fun.

"Simply put, our goal is to make this the best Z yet, period," says Hiroshi Tamura, chief product specialist of the new Z. "With each generation, we raise the bar, pushing the limits of Z and continuing to tap into the human instinct for that next thrilling journey. More than just powerful and agile, the all-new Z is designed to be one with the driver, for the car to be a 'dance partner' for their on-road adventures."

Thanks Tamura San, that just makes us want it more.

How much fun will it be?

Well let's look at what Nissan has done here. Beyond the retro looks, it's dropped in a 3.0-litre twin-turbo V6 that develops 405hp with 475Nm of torque at 5,600rpm. It's attached a carbon fibre composite driveshaft to it and linked that to a six-speed manual gearbox. It's then added launch assist and rev matching. Opt for the nine-speed auto and the Z gets full launch control.

Everything has been dialled up from the 370Z with power up 68hp, torque increased by 30 percent and cornering performance up 13 percent, although we're not sure how you define better cornering performance in percentage terms. Another interesting stat is that dampening force has been reduced by 20 percent, which is aimed at giving the new Z a better ride over uneven surfaces.

Automatic versions get a Sport mode which provides the full power as well as tightening everything up, presumably to get better cornering performance. There's also a Z Performance model which gets a mechanical limited slip diff.

What's it like inside?

Like the exterior, the inside has a retro meets modern look and feel about it. There are three gauges on the top of the dash for boost, turbo speed and voltage but below that sits a touchscreen infotainment system. The new Z has a 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster which has three display modes to suit a driver's preference.

The seats and armrests have all been designed to provide better comfort but also reduce lateral movement in cornering, with more suede and other grippy materials.

It sounds great, so why can't we have it?

Well firstly if you're in the US then hooray for you because you can have it. If you're in Japan then a version is coming for you too, you lucky people. But hang on, if Japan can have it and it'll be right hand drive, why can't the UK have it? Apparently it's all to do with emissions regulations. The UK and Europe are stricter than other parts of the world. Expect to see some really expensive imports from Japan when it does launch then.