Aston's Vantage V12 supercar

Aston Martin recently shoehorned its largest-calibre engine into its smallest-calibre car and produced the Vantage V12, a limited edition run of just 1000 units. Want one?

South African units are available by special order only, at a price of R3 050 000.

THIS ENGINE BITES: The V12 in this Vantage means the driver is not playing with a watered-down, one-size-fits-all sports car but a real hardcore machine.

It creates some new excitement in a range that was launched back in 2005, originally with a 4.3-litre V8 engine and then a 4.7 that raised outputs to 313kW and 470Nm. The monster 6-litre V12 now brandished by the Vantage is the same engine used in the larger Aston DBS and DB9 models, and the front-mid mounted unit fires 380kW and 570Nm of "hell-yeah" to the rear wheels.