$3 million Aston Martin tailor-made for super-rich

The ultra-exclusive Aston Martin One-77 could cost up to $5 million to land in New Zealand.

The covers have finally been pulled from the £1.2 million ($3.12 million) Aston Martin One-77 - and it has been revealed that at least one of the super-exclusive coupes has been bought by an Australian.

The carmaker's regional manager for Asia-Pacific, Marcel Fabris, has said that there is "the potential of one or two more" sales across the ditch where, with import duty and luxury taxes, the One-77 could end up costing around A$4 million ($5.12 million).

Fabris said that the first Australian buyer has paid an A$200,000 deposit and has been told his car will be delivered in early 2010.

The supercar has just made its world debut at the Concorso d'Eleganza on the shores of Lake Como, Italy, in final complete form, with a full interior and running gear.

Just like the prototype that appeared at the Geneva motor show, the final car evolves the classic Aston Martin design themes of a long bonnet, short tail and trademark grille and adds dramatic slashes in the front bumper along with a racing-style diffuser at the rear.

Inside, the cabin also draws on the current range of models, but is curvier and features lots of leather mixed with exposed parts of the chassis - just check out the carbon fibre on the inside of the doors.

Under the bonnet lies a 7.3-litre V12 engine, which produces 525kW and weighs 25 per cent less than the 6-litre unit under the bonnet of the DB series.

With the car weighing in at around 1500kg, the One-77 is predicted to have a top speed in excess of 325km/h, with a zero to 100km/h time of 3.5 seconds.

All 77 models have already been sold. The stunning machine scooped the top prize at the Concorso d'Eleganza event, winning the design award for concept cars and prototypes.

Aston Martin chief executive Dr Ulrich Bez said the extremely low production run meant that the company could do things with the car that could not be done with a run of 3000 cars or more, enabling each car to be tailored to its owner's requirements.

As well as the interior, the suspension can be set up specifically and even the weighting of the gearshift paddles can be tailored.

"This car should give you the feeling like it is a tailored suit," said Dr Bez. "This is the difference - we can do things you cannot do with a machine because of the low volume, so it has to be hand-made. You have much more freedom."

The super-exclusive One-77 is the first all-new Aston Martin built since a consortium led by British motorsport heavyweight and Prodrive owner David Richards bought the marque from Ford.

Each One-77 body is sculpted by hand from a flat sheet of aluminium and is about 125mm longer than a DB9. The carbon-fibre chassis is made by an outside supplier, and the interior and even some of the technical aspects of the car will be tailored for each of the 77 owners.