by Vijay Pattni

Is this the world’s coolest roadster?

We certainly think so – this is the Brabus-tuned Tesla roadster which made its UK show debut at the 2009 London Motorexpo in Canary Wharf.

German tuner Brabus – famous for pimping up Mercs for Hollywood celebrities – hooked up with Tesla to create this one-off showpiece.

Sporting a bespoke leather and carbon fibre interior trim, bigger Brabus alloy wheels and carbon fibre body panels, the modified Tesla was certainly one of the stars of the free motor show which kicked off this morning.

Speaking to Auto Trader, Tesla said it wanted to link up with someone “as established as Brabus”, to help promote the world’s first zero-emission sportscar.

The Tesla roadster runs on 6,800 laptop batteries to give it a 240bhp power output and a thundering 0-62mph time of 3.9 seconds.

And Brabus – used to fire-breathing Mercedes V8 engines – decided to add a little drama to the Tesla, and developed a bespoke V8 soundtrack.

“Brabus wanted to make the Tesla sound a little more glorious”, explains Tesla’s man on the show floor.

Elsewhere, Aston Martin was busy turning the frowns of bankers upside down and making men into quivering boys.

Yes – the sensational Aston Martin V12 Vantage and DBS Volante made their UK show debut inside the plush marble surroundings of Canary Wharf’s business epicentre.

And the supercars attracted serious attention – entire groups of business-type people were stunned into silence and just gawped at the British beauties.

The DBS Volante is the drop-top version of the most expensive Aston Martin which featured in last year’s Bond film Quantum of Solace. Sporting a 6-litre V12 engine and 510bhp, the Aston sprints from 0-62mph in just 4.3 seconds before hitting its top speed of 191mph.

The other show-stopping Aston on display is the V12 Vantage – the fastest coupe to ever bear the Aston Martin badge.

With the same 6-litre V12 engine and 510bhp as the DBS, the V12 Vantage does the 0-62mph sprint in just 4.2 seconds and hits a 190mph top speed.

“The V12 Vantage is a rare sportscar – just 1,000 units will be produced over the next three years”, explains Aston Martin’s spokesperson.

And at £135,000 – a full £40,000 less than the DBS Volante – it seems like the bargain of the century.

The other big showpiece was BMW’s newest attempt at fudging genres – the all-new BMW 5 Series GT made its public show debut in a special housing just outside Canary Wharf’s famous One Canada Square.

The 5 Series GT is a cross between a high-riding SUV (X5), a 5 Series and a 7 Series, all rolled into one slightly oddly-designed package.

BMW told us the new 5 Series GT was intended to “showcase all our existing technology and BMW’s new design language.

“It still gives the driver the high and commanding driving position without the stigma of driving an SUV.”

We’re not sure on the looks – but it’s certainly something.

Check back later for our unique London Motorexpo coverage – we’ve got every car pictured so you can visit the show from the comfort of your computer.