A James Bond car

I’m always on the lookout for my next good spot but the other day, out for a ride on my bike, I spot “The Spot” this Aston Martin Vanquish

Boy did I make a quick U-turn after seeing it drive by. I was lucky that traffic was light on Easter Sunday, and just by chance, the owner had to grab some paperwork at a local title loan place.

Pretty sure this is a V12 Vanquish and not an S version because it would have had the badging on the trunk just to the right of the license plate holder, or boots as they call it in England. This, I’m going to call it an icon car, was introduced in 2001 as the successor to the Aston Martin Vantage at the 2001 Geneva Motor Show and was produced from 2001 to 2007 as the flagship of the marque and was built to display the company’s vision for a future sports car.

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The naturally aspirated V12 engine produced 460 hp at 6,500 rpm. controlled by a drive-by-wire throttle and driven by a 6-speed automated manual transmission. With all that power, extra attention was taken to stopping it. The Vanquish featured 14.0-inch drilled and ventilated disc brakes with four-piston calipers, and ABS, with electronic brake distribution. Inside was full instrumentation, advanced electronics, and a choice of leather upholstery with metallic details.

The automotive media loved this car that was driven by James Bond in the 2002 film Die Another Day. In addition to delivering impressive figures including an acceleration of 0–60 mph in under 5 seconds and a top speed exceeding 190 mph. Road tests they loved its powertrain, chassis, advanced engineering, and design. The V12 Vanquish was described without caveat as “The ultimate Grand Tourer” by Road & Track magazine. Car and Driver described the V12 Vanquish as “worthy of the marque’s heritage and a serious alternative to the top Ferrari.” Wow, big, big words.

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Of course with all this fun comes a price tag. A 2023 will set you back $173,086. And unlike cars like the Bentley Continental, which values drop like a rock later on, this car doesn’t. The lowest price one for sale I could find was a 2019 at just under 94 grand.

Thanks for stopping by and reading about this spot. Be sure to check out my others along with new car reviews Mark does. Check back next Friday for another spot and have a great weekend.