Sure, some might quibble about a few of the Vantage’s Ford parts-bin components, or argue that a Porsche 911 is a more technically accomplished driving machine, but who cares? Live and let live, I say!
Perhaps unsurprisingly, most previous-generation Vantages seem to have been equipped with the Sportshift automated gearbox, which isn’t really such a bad thing if you want the most relaxing of road trips. They’re not two-a-penny either, with only around 6,200 V8 Vantage Roadsters produced up to 2017 before a new Vantage arrived. More than 15,000 coupe versions were produced, alongside the much rarer V12 Vantage, of which Aston Martin built roughly 2,500 coupes and fewer than 500 Roadsters.
You can pick up an early V8 Vantage Roadster for as little as £25k these days, and given the manual variant’s rarity, the investment potential looks very promising.
Ferrari 612 Scaglietti
By Tom Jervis
BHP/engine size: 532bhp; 5.7-litre
Engine/gears: V12 N/A/6-speed manual or 6-speed automated manual
0-62mph/top speed 4.2 seconds/196mph
Price new/price now: £170,500/£50-130,000
Just because something looks a bit awkward, it doesn’t mean someone should overlook it – that’s something I like to tell myself when I look in the mirror, but it’s also true for the Ferrari 612 Scaglietti. The predecessor to the FF, Ferrari’s first four-wheel-drive car, the 612 was instead based on the 599 of the time and donned a bespoke, if a tad cloddish, all-aluminium body designed by Pininfarina.
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