Trading up from a bike to a V12 Aston

“I came here from South Africa in 2007 with £312.98 to my name. I’ve always remembered the pennies!” says Manni Azizi, a retired entrepreneur. “I couldn't afford a car so I rode a bicycle.” Today, 18 years later, he has considerably more than £300 to his name — at least enough to afford his rather fine, £225,000 Aston Martin Vanquish V12.

- JOHN EVANS

“It is my first Aston,” he says. “I had a couple of Bentleys before - a GT and a GTC - but I'd always wanted an Aston. In South Africa, a Vanquish was my poster car. When I decided to buy my own, it had to be a second-generation model. I wanted the naturally aspirated V12 engine, because it marked the end of an era. The car had to be in the colour combination of red with a pale interior. This one took me months to track down.”