DC Avanti

Powering the Avanti is a 2.0-litre turbocharged engine developing 250bhp. The motor is an off-the-shelf, four-cylinder unit, from a French car manufacturer, and it develops a torque of 340Nm, which kicks in at as low as 2000 rpm, but when you bring it to life, it sounds normal. You expect the engine to crank and a burst of exhaust volume; well, there's none of that drama. But the lack of noise has nothing to do with performance. According to the people at DC designs, it sprints from 0-100km/h in just 6 seconds and there's no reason why we won't believe it. Yes, it's quick and fun to drive and with a ground clearance of 170mm it is tall too and has no problems negotiating any of the speed bumps or potholes on the road. The clutch was a bit heavy and the brakes felt a bit spongy, so you felt it needed a bit more travel to get that bite, but well, it is still work in progress and bleeding the brakes might resolve the issue, to an extent.