If a small British manufacturer came to me and said, "Look, we've got this car. It's 50 grand, it's got a V8, it's light and it'll do 0-60mph in about five seconds", I'd be more than interested.

After all, I'm always glad to see start-up companies coming up with new and inspirational products, or smaller manufacturers forging successful niches for themselves.

One that boldly claims its car can do 0-60mph in two seconds, all thanks to an eminently predictable combination of components and a conventional design, however, is dangerously close to being automatically dismissed as vapourware.

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Even more suspicions are raised when you see quotes like 'space-age and lightweight materials', '0.5 mach (340mph)', 'unrivalled knowledge' and 'world-beating car' dotted with abandon through the press materials.

However, the car in question - the new Keating 'The Bolt' - certainly sounds interesting once you've cut through the chaff. Composite bodywork, a tubular chassis, the ever-dependable combination of a rear-mounted LS V8 engine and a six-speed transaxle, no driver aids and a claimed kerb weight of 990kg - all good things.

I appreciated the fact that it did indeed use a GM-sourced 505bhp 7.0-litre LS7 engine as well, because it indicated a degree of realism and dependability about the product. Here's a manufacturer who's openly not going for an unreliable, costly or unfeasible powerplant, instead sticking with a tried-and-tested unit.

Opting for an engine like that gives you a vast amount of future potential as well, as a few tweaks, or the addition of a couple of turbochargers, can soon see the car's performance figures rivalling that of much, much more costly alternatives.

So, it was with some apprehension that I attended the launch of the Keating 'The Bolt'. I wanted it to be good, a viable and marketable product. I wasn't expecting something with the fit and finish of a Porsche, and I was hoping for some sign that yes, someone might actually want to buy a Keating.

I was also ready to accept that it might command a seemingly unrealistic and unattainable price tag. Small volume cars like these are typically expensive anyway, but there are always people out there who have the money to spend on incredibly rare or noteworthy cars.

Before I even saw the car, however, I was handed a bit of paper that killed the whole thing stone dead for me. Keating said that its new car would cost £750,000.