AIMS: Aston One-77 for Sydney

The only example of Aston Martin's super-exclusive One-77 to be sold in Australia will take star billing at next week's Australian International Motor Show in Sydney.

Show organisers today confirmed the only local example of the limited-edition One-77 – just 77 versions of which were produced globally – will make its Australian public debut at the Sydney Convention & Exhibition Centre.

The hand-crafted One-77 was priced at £1.25 million in the UK and the only example sold in Australia was purchased by an anonymous Queensland enthusiast with a $200,000 deposit at the height of the 2008 global financial crisis, when local taxes would have brought the price to almost $4 million.

When the road-going supercar was delivered earlier this year, however, more favourable exchange rates and reduced import duty saw the purchase price reduce to about $1.87 million.

Of course, that still makes the One-77 Australia's most expensive new car, eclipsing Rolls-Royce’s Phantom Drophead Coupe convertible, which costs $1,355,000 drive-away.

AIMS Director Russ Tyrie thanked the car's owner for allowing one of the world's most sought-after supercars to make its Australian debut.

"The One-77 was first revealed to the world in concept form three years ago, and this year Australians will be able to see one in all its glory after its owner has generously allowed for it to be on public display, only months after taking possession," he said.

"In the creation of the One-77, Aston Martin wanted to create a car closer to art than the automobile and it has certainly achieved that.

"The One-77 is unique, it is like no other Aston Martin or supercar ever engineered and we are confident it will be a talking point of this year's Australian International Motor Show."

Based on a carbon-fibre monocoque structure and wrapped in aluminium body panels, the One-77 is powered by a 7.3-litre naturally aspirated V12 producing 559kW and 750Nm.

It's not one of the world's quickest supercars with a claimed 0-100km/h acceleration figure of 3.7 seconds, but a 350km/h-plus top speed makes the two-seat Aston coupe one of the fastest.

Australians have long provided homes to some of the world's most exotic supercars and on a per-capita basis Australia one of the world’s most popular destinations for cars like the Porsche 911.

So far this year about 20 Australians have stumped up the $493,000 plus on-road costs required to drive away in a McLaren MP4-12C.

However, Rolls-Royce sales are down by about a quarter so far this year, with 'just' 13 sold to September, while Ferrari sales have slumped by a similar margin, with 'only' 76 sold.

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