That's why, to Western eyes, a higgledy piggledy Japanese newspaper is an impenetrable maze of nonsense. But that isn't the case if you look at one story, then the next, and then the next. It only becomes a problem if you see the page as a whole.

So maybe, the Japanese think the Corvette is more revolting than the baboon that arrived in Jeff Goldblum's teleporter, inside out.

I doubt it. Even if you examine each small area independently, you struggle to find one bit that's awkward or ungainly. Ferrari has made some ugly cars in its time. And even the good ones have had some wonky angles. But in 50 years, there hasn't been one square inch of a Corvette that anyone would describe as even slightly odd. Quite an achievement.

Strangely, this brings us on to Uma Thurman. She's so beautiful that every time she makes a film, I buy it. And this means I have a very large collection of rubbish DVDs in my cupboard.

And so it goes with the 'Vette. I've driven most of the models over the years and nearly all of them have fallen into one of two categories: terrible or oh My God It's Still Moving.

The Seventies version came with a steering wheel which did not seem to be connected, even loosely, to the front wheels. And a huge engine, which made a lot of noise but was not connected in any discernible way, to the back wheels.

Many people are drawn to this car's predecessor, the split-screen Stingray. I can see why, it looks good, a point you'll undoubtedly note as you career through the windscreen and then through the Pearly Gates. I'm pretty certain the model I drove had no brakes at all.

I've only ever driven two Corvettes that weren't terrible or Oh My God It's Still Moving. One was a Sixties convertible which was just 'nasty' and one was the current C6 which is actually quite good fun.

That's why I was genuinely looking forward to the Z06, which is, to the C6, what the BMW CSL is to the old M3: a lowered, lightened, hardened, pumped-up, puffed out quasi-racer version.

As a whole, it's just as much of a looker as any other Corvette, but there are details for the Japanese to note as well. Small flaps on the front wheelarches to improve downforce, a bigger mouth for better engine cooling and little butterflies in the exhaust to provide yet more sound.