Aston Martin V12 Vantage,

Serious Want-age

BILL THOMAS, OF TG UK, is an Australian, and therefore a very difficult man to please. But even he was blown away when he drove Aston Martin's RS concept, the car that has now morphed into the V12 Vantage, the car that company describes as the most potent in its 95-year history. Ready to make its debut at the Geneva show in March, the V12 features a 6.0-litre engine with 510bhp and 570Nm, which will take this pint-sized beast from 0-100 in 4.1 seconds, and top out at 310kph. Aston also went and put the Vantage platform on a diet, so the V12 is only 50kg heavier than the V8 and you can even opt for carbon fired seats, chopping away a further 15kg, which sounds just the right king of hardcore. Thankfully, the car also comes with the six-speed manual 'box that Aston does so well, not the flappy-paddle system that it can never get right. Prices are expected to cross Rs 1 crore without any sort of duty. But then, you'd pay twice that for this package, wouldn't you?