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Rating

Verdict Destined for motoring history

Normally I avoid road-testing cars made by small British companies like Ascari because nobody is going to buy one anyway. However, some things are worth a bit of extra effort and the Ascari A10 is one of them. With a tweaked version of BMW’s old M5 engine sitting in the middle of the carbon fibre tub, you have the power of 600 horses in a car that weighs about the same as a sausage dog.

The result is epic. You put your foot on the accelerator and then you become somewhere else. This is hypercar fast.

Yet it isn’t all brute-force barnyard technology. It has quite the best steering of any car I’ve ever driven. Perfectly weighted. Perfectly linear in its response.

It also manages to be pretty and muscular at the same time. Combining the appeal of Kate Moss and the Terminator is a trick no other supercar designer has managed before.

The A10 is daft, for sure. It consumes oil and smashes up its environment. But elephants do that as well; they destroy their habitat and drive themselves to extinction. And I bet you’ll be sad when they die out.

Current price £411,250

Price when tested (Sep 2007) £411,250

Engine 4941cc, eight cylinders

Power 625bhp @ 7500rpm

Torque 413 lb ft @ 5500rpm

Transmission Six-speed manual

Fuel/ n/a

0-60mph 2.8sec

Top speed 215mph