Nevermind the fact that you could buy a nice house in the middle part of the country for $179,995--you can also buy a brand-new Aston Martin V12 Vantage for that price. The official announcement, released today, also reveals that the Carbon Black special edition will start from $194,995.

Those prices sound steep, to be sure, but they're competitive with the Ferrari 458 Italia and Lamborghini Gallardo, the nearest competitors in size and power. Both the Ferrari and Lamborghini make more power, hit higher top speeds, and accelerate quicker than the V12 Vantage, but what the Aston lacks in performance, it makes up in grace.

Not to mention what is sure to be a soul-stirring sound from the 6.0-liter V-12 engine under the hood. And at 510 horsepower, 420 pound-feet of torque, 4.1 seconds to 60 mph, and a top speed of 190 mph, it's no slouch when it comes to quick, either.

We'll have to wait for the full pricing and options list to figure out how much it'll really cost to get the V12 Vantage of your dreams, but expect to be able to back on $20,000 to $50,000 worth of options and custom materials pretty easily.

[Aston Martin]