Format: bullet cues only, reference not read-aloud. Hosts riff from beats, never teleprompter the page.
Scored as: 2007-2008, VQ35HR, 6MT coupe · Total: 43/70 (PROPOSED) · Target runtime: ~6:40, hard ceiling 7:00
Title (curiosity gap): "We Found 306 Horsepower For Less Than A Used Civic"
Thumbnail word: "UNINSPECTABLE" plus a big 42 on the Board
Order: Deal, Drive, Upkeep, Risk, Daily, Limit, Mods, Board, Verdict

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Hook, one sentence (~0:05)

1. "Eighteen dollars and seventy cents a horsepower, and the part most likely to strand you is one no inspection will ever find."
2. "Three hundred and six horsepower, five thousand seven hundred dollars. Here is the catch."
3. "We just reviewed a Miata you can inspect your way into safely. This is the opposite car."

Recommend #1. Cut straight to The Deal on the last syllable.

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1 · The Deal, reveal 9 (~0:50)

Beats

• $5,715 · KBB private party, Good, 120,000 mi · range $4,590 to $6,540
• $18.7 per horsepower. Nearest is the G37 at $21.2 · NC Miata $41.8 · GR86 $103
• Ties the NC Miata on The Deal by the opposite argument: Miata is the cheapest car, this is the cheapest engine
• Neglected example needs $5,400 to $7,700 in year one, which is 94 to 135% of the purchase price
• The line: "You can buy this car twice. Once from the seller, once from a workshop."
• 120k is a fair basis here. Nobody garaged these

B-roll: live cars.com search, 2007-08 under $12k · screen-record the grid at edit time
On screen: the $5,715 plate · $/hp ladder · year-one cost bars against the purchase price
Reveal line cue: "Three hundred and six horsepower at eighteen dollars a pop... The Deal scores a 9."

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2 · The Drive, reveal 8 (~0:45)

Beats

• 306 hp / 268 lb-ft · 3,320 lb · 10.9 lb/hp · 0-60 5.6s · 7,500 rpm
• Beats the GR86 (12.4), both Miatas, and everything else in the budget tier
• Three engines in this car, and only one is the one you want: 2003-05 VQ35DE · 2006 "Rev-Up" (the oil burner) · 2007-08 VQ35HR
• Scope starts at 2007 because the older cars crossed 20 years old, and it lands on the best engine by accident
• Why a 7 and not an 8: we score feel, not the stopwatch. Heavy, blunt, fast in a straight line
• Ties the 370Z, the same idea a generation later

On screen: 10.9 lb/hp vs the tier · three-engine timeline with 2007+ highlighted
Reveal line cue: "Faster than anything else down here, and it isn't subtle about it... The Drive, a 8."

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3 · The Upkeep, reveal 5 (~0:45)

Beats

• ~$5,200/yr: $2,400 fuel · $1,950 insurance · $350 tires · $500 service
• ~$390/yr cheaper than the 370Z, and the comparison is legitimate: same insurance source, same profile
• 20 mpg on premium
• Staggered 225 front / 245 rear cannot be rotated. Fronts gone by 18,000 mi · ~$700 a set every two years
• Insurance is 34.1% of the car's value per year. You pay for the car again every three years
• Most owners run liability only, so treat $5,200 as a ceiling

On screen: running-cost stack vs the 370Z · staggered fitment with a "NO ROTATION" stamp · insurance-as-%-of-value
Reveal line cue: "Cheaper than the 370Z, and still not cheap... The Upkeep, a 5."

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4 · The Risk, reveal 4 (~1:20)

Beats (this segment is the review, protect it in the edit)

• Scope out loud first: 2007-2008 only
• The concentric slave cylinder: $1,500-1,800 with the clutch, and no inspection predicts it
• Fails regardless of mileage. A 50k car with full history is no safer than a 150k one
• Nissan CSP NTB08-002 covered all 2007 cars · the same part drove a class action over the 370Z
• RepairPal quotes $181-216 for that job. It excludes pulling the transmission, so it understates it about 9x
• The oil gallery gasket: $1,200-2,800, 10 hrs, every car in scope. Codes P0011 / P0021, and the advice is do not drive it
• Ramon has had this fail personally. Say so on camera
• Myth-buster: "the 350Z burns oil" is the 2006 Rev-Up only. The HR is clean

PPI checklist, hold it on screen

1. Scan for P0011 / P0016 / P0021
2. Documented slave cylinder and clutch work
3. Clutch pedal to the floor, feel for soft or sinking engagement
4. Confirm 2007-08 HR: 306 hp, 7,500 rpm
5. Front tires, inside edges
6. Oil pressure at idle, warm

Year-one cost

• Maintained ~$1,000-1,400 · Typical ~$3,600-5,800 · Neglected ~$5,400-7,700
• As a share of the $5,715 buy-in: 17-25% vs 94-135%
• On the NC Miata a good PPI moves you from the worst column to the best. Here it does not. Even a documented car carries ~$1,650 you cannot inspect away

On screen: severity/frequency grid · "$181?" struck through, replaced with "$1,500-1,800" · P0011/P0021 code card · PPI checklist held long enough to pause
Reveal line cue: "Two severe failures, and the common one is invisible... The Risk, a 4."

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5 · The Daily, reveal 3 (~0:30)

Beats

• 6.8 cu ft against the 370Z's 6.9. Two seats, two doors, same shape. On space they tie exactly
• They still should not score the same, which is why this category is livability, not cubic feet
• No Bluetooth at all. Predates adoption · head unit $300-500
• Interior plastics are of their era in a way you notice every time you get in
• A point below its own replacement on identical space

On screen: 6.8 vs 6.9 cu ft (near-identical bars) then the tech row splitting them · "NO BLUETOOTH" stamp
Reveal line cue: "Same space as the car that replaced it, a decade further back... The Daily, a 3."

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6 · The Limit, reveal 8 (~0:45)

Beats

• SCCA F Street. Same class as the 370Z, and as the G37
• Read straight out of the 2026 Appendix A, alongside the Shelby GT350, C63 AMG and Lexus IS F
• RWD, two seats, 3,320 lb, on staggered 225/245 18s
• The old Z and the car that replaced it compete in the same class, and this one costs a third as much
• No instrumented grip or braking figure exists for the HR: the numbers in circulation describe a VQ35DE and a NISMO on a different protocol
• What the 7 rests on: RWD balance, 7,500 rpm, real autocross pedigree. A point under the 370Z on hardware and seat time

On screen: the F Street list with the 350Z and 370Z both highlighted · two price tags under one class banner · autocross b-roll
Reveal line cue: "Same class as its own replacement, for a third of the money... The Limit, a 7."

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7 · The Mods, reveal 6 (~0:40)

Beats

• 370-400 bhp on stock internals with low boost, fuel and a tune
• ~$16,000 installed twin turbo gets you around 500 whp, which is roughly $6,700 per +100 whp
• The better engine has the worse aftermarket. Most kits target the VQ35DE; the HR's dual throttle body needs scarcer HR-specific kits
• Mods accelerate the known failure. The weak point is a clutch-actuation part, and +100 hp drives clutch and slave cylinder wear directly
• Exact opposite of the NC Miata, where mods only waste money
• Payoff: tires, pads, suspension. Enjoy the 306 hp you already bought cheaper than anyone else's

On screen: DE-vs-HR kit availability split · "MODS ACCELERATE THE KNOWN FAILURE" stamp
Reveal line cue: "A real ceiling, and every step toward it shortens the fuse... The Mods, a 6."

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The Board + Verdict (~0:50)

Beats

• Total lands: 42 / 70, last on the Board, and it is a proposed score
• Say the shape immediately so it does not read as "bad car": wins the categories you notice on day one, loses the ones you notice in year one
• Ties the NC Miata on The Deal, strong Drive, then hands it all back on a Risk of 4
• VERDICT: "Buy only with the clutch, slave cylinder and gasket already done."
• The three checks: scan the codes, get the paperwork, budget for the gasket
• Skip case: only car, cannot absorb a four-figure surprise, or you wanted something you could de-risk
• Closing line: that car exists, it is $1,270 more, and it is the NC Miata

On screen: the 42 hits the Board · 350Z slots below the 370Z · Buy stamp with the three-check condition
Close cue: one line pointing at the NC Miata review · end

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Runtime + notes

• Sum is roughly 6:40. The Risk carries the extra runtime because at this price the question is which example, not which model. If it runs long, pull from The Mods and The Daily.
• All seven scores are proposals. The Risk (4) is the one carrying this car.
• Do not say on camera: a price trend, the 2007 Enthusiast KBB range, grip or braking figures, or that the gallery gasket cost is verified (it is single-sourced; the failure is first-hand).
• B-roll warning: listings are asking prices, the $5,715 is KBB private-party. Name which is which or it reads as a contradiction.
• Title and thumbnail share zero words per channel rule.