Add Vantage Aston

Aston Martin chose Sydney for the Down Under launch of the most important model in its history - the V8 Vantage; the most accessible, highest volume model ever produced by the tiny British company.

As if to highlight the importance of this new model Aston Martin CEO Dr Ulrich Bez flew in to Sydney to personally launch the exotic two-seat sports car. "This is a car that can make a boy's dreams come true -- sooner," said Bez, the man responsible for Aston Martin's renewed prosperity.

Featuring a new 283kW 4.3-litre V8 engine, the shorter, more muscular V8 Vantage has been engineered to be a true driver's car with a top speed of 280km/h -- 0-100km/h is smashed in only 5.0sec.

It is the first two-seat Aston Martin sports car since the DB2 of 1950. 

Completing a new three-car line-up that includes the super-expensive V12 Vanquish S, DB9 (and convertible DB9 Volante model) the V8 Vantage is the most 'affordable' Aston yet. Price starts at $236,000. 

Ford-affliate Aston Martin hopes to sell around 3000 V8 Vantages per year worldwide with initial plans of selling 80 cars locally growing to 200 within two years. Having hand-built only 20,000 cars in its 91-year history these unprecedented numbers are sure to give the company more exposure on Australian roads.