ASTON MARTIN V12 VANQUISH

2001-2005

Price £65,000-£80,000

It took Aston Martin a long time to make a better-looking grand tourer than the 2001 V12 Vanquish. Some say that the wait still goes on. Very few Aston Martins sound better than this to boot, thanks to the baleful howl of an atmospheric Cologne V12 bellowing through very little exhaust muffling. If you like your supercars traditional, front-engined, noisy and so gorgeous as to turn heads absolutely wherever you take it, the original Vanquish ought to appeal like little else.

While this car’s V12-engined contemporaries from Italy and Germany have mushroomed in value to almost £200k in many cases, the Vanquish remains relatively attainable, and has long passed the likelihood of further depreciation. The transmission problems of early cars are easy enough to avoid now, too, with plenty of cars having had their troublesome automated manual transmissions swapped out for a manual.

Ownership of any V12 Aston Martin isn’t for the faint of wallet. With this one, examine the service history carefully for evidence that the 5.9-litre engine has had plugs and coils recently; the gearbox position sensor has been replaced, if necessary; and the suspension bushes have been changed.

ONE WE FOUND 2004 ASTON MARTIN V12 VANQUISH MANUAL, 28K MILES, £74,950