Gabby Agbonlahor struck three times in a thrilling second half as Villa ended their woeful run against Man City at Villa Park.
Villa had failed to beat City at home in any competition since 2002, but John Carew and Agbonlahor ripped Mark Hughes' men apart to claim a 4-2 victory.
City, dressed in a striking orange away strip, pulled level with an Elano penalty after Carew opened the scoring on 48.
But, in a sensational seven minute spell, England striker Agbonlahor guided the home side to an opening weekend win.
Vedran Corluka claimed a second goal near the end for the deflated Blue Moon boys.
It was a new look Villa side that took to the field with Brad Friedel, Nicky Shorey and Luke Young all making their home debuts.
Gareth Barry started in midfield alongside Stiliyan Petrov and both were eventual contenders for Man of the Match.
The first half was fairly even but the better chances fell to Villa, with Barry missing the best of them.
He failed to contact properly with a Nigel Reo-Coker cross which had Joe Hart scrambling across his goal.
Curse
Carew was equally profligate, when presented with a clear header from Ashley Young's corner.
It looked liked Villa may rue those chances because Micah Richards was in frustrating form as he constantly thwarted Agbonlahor who struggled against the powerful defender.
But, the second half was a different story as Carew finally got his scoring head on and Agbonlahor managed to get the better of Richards.
Both strikers owed much to the creativity of Gareth Barry and Ashley Young, who combined on a number of occasions to carve out fantastic opportunities.
The opener was all about Young's dynamic wing play as he drifted past Corluka and dug out an amazing cross for Carew. The Norwegian got above his marker to guide a header past Joe Hart from six yards.
To City's credit, they came back with a bang.
Villa were under siege and after Shorey failed to clear properly, fellow debutant Luke Young brought down City midfielder Michael Johnson in the box.
The home fans were hoping for heroics from Brad Friedel, who saved a penalty in pre-season at Reading, but he went the wrong way as mesmeric Brazilian Elano dispatched the spot kick.
It looked like the curse of Manchester was set to strike again but Agbonlahor had other ideas.
First he side footed the ball in from Carew's header across goal and then, after Barry broke free on the left, he headed past Hart.
Livewire
It was typical Agbonlahor and memories of Chelsea and Wigan were conjured up around the stadium.
The livewire striker completed a lethal spell by claiming his hat-trick with Barry again the provider.
This time the inventive midfielder set Agbonlahor free through the middle and the striker made no mistake with a left footed finish.
Croatian defender Corluka was given the freedom of Villa park to slot home a consolation near the end but the day belonged to Agbonlahor and Villa.
The Claret and Blue were a joy to watch at times and even the much-criticised Stiliyan Petrov was a marvel.
Right back Young enjoyed a strong debut and although Shorey was less impressive, he will get better with games under his belt.
Fellow new arrivals Carlos Cuellar and Steve Sidwell may just be wondering how they're going to get into this side after such a strong performance.
Villa have started the season strongly and considering the win was just their second in the last nine opening weekends, the signs are good.
With Agbonlahor, Young and Barry in such fine form, Villa are a team to be feared.
And who knows? Agbonlahor may just prove to be the twenty goals a season man that Villa need to break the Big Four dominance.