London 2012: Car Throttle's Medal Winners

You may’ve heard that East London is currently hosting a minor, inconsequential sporting competition. I know, who’d have thought? Apparently, we’re doing rather well too. A healthy collection of gold medals has propelled us to third place in the BBC’s Medal Table, behind China and the USA (in first and second places respectively), and just ahead of South Korea. I am, of course, talking about the Olympics. But you already knew that. It’s on the telly... constantly.

Third’s pretty good for us. Honest. That’s a Bronze Medal overall, behind America’s Silver and China’s Gold. This got Team CT thinking. If we were to take the ultimate example of each country’s car industry as they stand, who’d come out on top? Who’d win a coveted Car Throttle Gold Medal, and who’d find themselves on the third step of the podium? Read on to find out...

Bronze Medal (3rd Place)

My remit was to find the sexiest, or best, Chinese car. This was much more difficult than it first appeared for a number of reasons, chief among which were: 1) I don’t speak a word of Mandarin, and 2) the Chinese don’t make any sexy cars. At all. It’s a big fat DNF I’m afraid - and this is why:

Now that's just cheating. It's worse than the original. How is that even possible?

Silver Medal (2nd Place)

Go big or go home. That’s the American way, and it’s certainly obvious that it's the route GM has chosen to follow with the latest Viper. Downsizing? Pah! We’ll keep the 8.4-litre V10 thank you very much. With 640bhp and 600lb-ft of torque, it’s one of the USA’s most powerful production cars, behind the Shelby GT500 and its insane 662bhp. Expect 0-60mph in the low threes and a top speed exceeding 200mph when it goes on sale for the 2013 model year. And my, isn’t it stunning. Menacing is the word, just like a car called “Viper” should be.

Gold Medal (1st Place)

And the Gold Medal goes to... the Aston Martin Vanquish. Due late this year, the £190,000 Vanquish boasts a heavily reworked version of the familiar 6.0-litre V12. With 565bhp, it’ll hit 62mph in 4.1 seconds and run on to 183mph. Although it’s based on the same platform, the Vanquish is 56kg lighter than the DBS it replaces thanks to carbon-fibre body panels. It’s stiffer too, thanks to the mother of all engine braces.

But just look at it. The coupé retains Aston’s distinctive - if familiar - design cues, adding exquisitely slim rear lights, brutish haunches and a contrasting carbon-skirt. It might just be one of the best looking cars of 2012 - and it’s only August. Hence, it’s a fitting Gold Medal winner.

(Disclaimer: Yes, I know Aston’s owned largely by the Kuwaitis, but the Vanquish was designed, engineered and will probably be built in Warwickshire. So, forgive us?)

Have we missed anything? Do the Chinese make any half-decent cars? Hit us up in the comments, on Facebook, or on Twitter.