Aston Martin Virage

Until recently, Aston Martin only sold one or two models at a time, and they were always beautiful sports cars or grand tourers (with the exception of two failures: a sedan and an off roader). But now, they've started selling a compact, a sedan, and a supercar.

Aston Martin Cygnet

Aston Martin Rapide

Aston Martin One-77

Although Aston Martin has evolved, they haven't forgotten how to make great looking GT cars. Their DB9 is considered by many to be the best looking car of the 21st Century, so far.

Aston Martin DB9

So, as you would imagine, car people were ecstatic when Aston released the DBS, a hardcore version of the DB9, back in 2007. Unfortunately the DBS cost about $70,000 more than the DB9.

Lots of car reviewers questioned whether $70,000 was a reasonable price to pay for a car that was 0.6 seconds faster to 60mph, looked almost exactly the same, and had the same engine and transmission.

Aston Martin DBS

With those statistics in mind, you're probobly thinking the DBS is a pointless car. Aston Martin disagrees. In fact, they think there's room in their range for a car that's priced between the DB9 and DBS.

That's hard to imagine, so let's look at some statistics.

The new car, called the Virage, will cost about $210,000. That's about $20,000 more than the DB9 and $50,000 less than the DBS. The Virage will have the famous 6.0L V-12 that comes in both the DB9 and DBS. While the engine is the same, it's tuned differently for each car. So, the Virage has 20 more horsepower than the DB9, but 20 fewer than the DBS. The only transmission available in the Virage is the same one you'll find in the DB9 and DBS.

Aston Martin Virage

Why then, is the Virage $20,000 more than the DB9? Well, according to Car and Driver, "the Virage offers slightly better performance, a slightly nicer interior, and a slightly more-exotic shape—not to mention a unique name."

The better move by Aston Martin would have been to save money by not building the Virage, so they could afford to lower the price of its big brother, the DBS.

The Virage is a very beautiful and very fast car, but also one that should never have been built. It's pointless. If you have the cash to buy any of these three cars, save yourself $20,000 and buy a DB9.

On second thought, if you have the cash to buy any of these cars. Buy the DBS. Why not have the best of the best?

Unfortunately, no matter which way you argue, the Virage is still pontless. The DB9 is the best value, and the DBS is the best car. That leaves the Virage lost in the middle.

http://www.caranddriver.com/

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