Lagonda-lite

 Back when men were men and being a millionaire meant something, those with both wealth and taste (such a rare combination) and a need for four doors bought the Aston Martin Lagonda – so brutally styled by Bill Towns.

These days, millionaires are 10-a-penny and they all drive SUVS like everyone else. Aston Martin did however try to recreate the super-sports saloon in 2009 with the Rapide, a name taken from the Lagonda back-catalogue.

While being nowhere near as dramatic as the 1970s Lagonda, it looked leagues better than the woeful Porsche Panamera. A friend of mine who made a million overnight in the recession went straight out and bought a Rapide with his newfound wealth. You can judge a man by the company he keeps...

He ran it, without a single issue, for eight years until he had too many children for the car to cope. The only problem was the bark of the exhaust when he left the estate early to catch a train. Astonishingly, you can still buy a brand-new Rapide – but you’re more likely to see one parked up at Costco than at your local AML dealer.

What does it cost to get into a tasteful supersaloon these days? Well Manheim had one listed the other week, so I thought I’d watch it. 2011/11-plate, the 5.9 V12 auto looked utterly contemporary in dark grey metallic with a black leather interior. The car had covered a genuine 65k miles with eight Aston service stamps in the book. In fact, it had just received a service and MOT a few weeks before being entered into the sale.

This Rapide did have five previous owners, but it came direct from a BMW dealer. It had a spare key, a condition report that graded it as a 2 (excellent news) and a 39-point mechanical report that found nothing amiss. It did need a pair of replacement Bridgestones ASAP, if not a full set, but that’s nothing to worry about.

Booked at around £28k trade, the Aston didn’t attract a single bid; not online or in the hall after a week and more of being listed. Admittedly, it was in Plymouth – but you expect to travel for such a high-end vehicle. Rumour is, and you never heard this from me, £28k (all in) would have seen you driving it away (with trade plates, naturally). Considering a new one is £195k and now looks like a Max Power project, that’s an absolute bargain.

Booked at £28k trade, the Aston didn’t attract a single bid; not online or in the hall.