As found on BaT:
2001 Aston Martin DB7 V12 Vantage Volante 6-Speed | Bring a Trailer

 

Oh yeah, that's the uglier version of my X100 XKR.

 

Can you believe there is a jaguaresque Toyoda Supra on that same page selling for $50K, with 50,000 miles.

Its all in the head gents. I just wish we had whatever those Supra guys have in their head. What possible fantasy can build with a 300hp engine and interior from a Camry? THIS is the secret in life.

The alternative is dissatisfaction no matter what you have.

 

I did a lot of looking around at custom fit wheels on Supra's when I was wheel shopping. The size of the two cars is not the same, but the lines are quite similar.

I was lucky enough in July to be out walking and have both go by in short succession. It had been a long time since the last time I saw a Supra.

It really is a spectacular achievement from the aftermarket world the way the Supra has come to be perceived.

 

When that Aston came out, it was called "A Jag in Drag".

 

This is what I have been trying so laboriously to explain- for quite some time.

Nearly every virtue on a sports car is merely a figment of our imagination. In other words, the way to get 200hp extra out of your car may be by tuning your brain.

Someone prove me wrong and explain to me what quantifiable reason is the Supra worth more than a 2015 XKR.

 

The Jaguar is hurt badly by a pretty crappy interface design. The screen between the giant pieces of plastic just isn't something to evoke long term love. Then there is the delay in the center console interface, and a lack of being able to turn climate control off quickly, etc...

These create an impact on potential buyers. If you really want a wake up, compare the prices of a base 2012 Porsche 911 with significantly less HP to a 2012 XKR.

There are simply just a lot of little "offs" that add up on the Jaguar. If they had gotten these right, the price on used ones wouldn't be where they are. The MSRP would probably be another $10K higher at least.

The physical interface for human contact with the XK/XKR is simply lacking compared to past or present alternatives.

There is one other factor, size. For a lot of the world, the XK/XKR is simply too big. There is increased driver enjoyment when you aren't constantly trying to not have a collision in tight spaces with a big car. A large 2+2 is mainly going to appeal to those with a height to match, a smaller percentage of the world.

 

While looking over the pictures of that DB7 I could not help but notice that the interior door handles are exactly the same ones as installed in my 1990 Miata(!). Really??? AM couldn't source something a bit less cheap looking?

 

As Robert Wright has pointed out in more than one of his books, the mind is an evolutionary tool designed to feed and satiate our desires with a combination of truth and illusion. The question is not why a Supra may be valued as much as a 2015 XKR, but why either car is valued more than a Honda Accord which will perform the same tasks in relatively the same degree of comfort and safety while traveling at societal limits of velocity and time. That we have convinced ourselves we need or want either car is, at least in evolutionary terms, absurd and perhaps even counter to the true nature of our being which is to ensure the uninterrupted continuation of our genes.

One might argue that said continuation is best ensured with 500hp wrapped in one of automotive's most sexy beasts. And they might be right.

 

Thank You for that.

Joseph Campbell described extensively how much of our choices are actually influenced by others. The greater trick is to influence yourself. Or as he would say 'follow your bliss'.

To me, the XKR satisfies the societal needs by authentically satisfying mine first.

 

I have a coworker with 300k on his Accord, loves and hates it equally but is just too cheap to replace it. Another had a Pontiac Vibe with similar mileage. At this point he said he's just trying to kill it but doesn't want to because he'll have trouble finding something else to beat to death. I don't think it's perception so much as the use / duty of the vehicle and what you can justify spending on it.

I bought my XKR because it's pure sex just sitting still. It's not another bump on the road Mustang and doesn't require the ego of a Corvette. From the response on the road, the German crowd are envious. The ricer's love it and the average commuter gets out of the way.

 

My brother from another mother...





Aston Martin DB9 with aftermarket Mansory body kit (YUK!)

 

Yours is prettier- its comfortable in its skin and merely form following function.
Its just a good cut suit, not a black and white pin stripe one with extra padding on the shoulders.

Oh I shop at that crazy busy Trader Joes's couple of times a year. Never in my car unfortunately.

 

Why would they not take a half an hour and polish out the headlights on the Aston? I agree with Ranchero 50... XKR, because "it's pure sex just sitting still".

 

I turned up unannounced at a local dealer to have a test drive of a DB9 last weekend and found it handily placed in the car park of the next door shops so took the opportunity for quick a photo shoot

 

Your car would look so much better without that big white rectangular zit on its pretty face.

 

I know but unfortunately the local police probably wouldn't agree.

 

I like that, great pic !

 

Mansory really know how make any car look ugly.

 

Didn't you mean fugly?