If you're longing for a South African-built, Italian-designed vehicle powered by a 440 hp V-8 borrowed from the Corvette parts bin, your day has come. Zagato designed this hot coupe and contracted with Perana to build the beast.

Depending on your way of thinking, the Zagato Perana Z-One is either insanely cool or completely absurd. Zagato's annual production of 999 units seems a bit ambitious at first, but the estimated price of the car is a mere 50,000 Euros plus tax. The 440 hp LS3 V-8 under the hood should provide years of reliable service and parts should be relatively easy to come by (the same engine is used in a Vauxhall VXR8). Performance is expected to be mind-blowing with a 0-60 run taking less than four seconds. A ZF limited slip helps make that possible and a six-speed manual transmission should appeal to purists.

This rather unique pedigree should make for great conversation at cocktail parties and concours events and the design will certainly attract attention wherever you go. Anyone living in Europe should be able to swing by their local Zagato dealership and find a car by July 2009.