Smiles

I don't want to start an argument between which is better. I love my 993, but the Aston Martin is interesting...

A 993 has clear virtues that the Aston Martin (particularly the V8 Vantage) doesn't. The visibility in the 993 is superior, and so is the steering feel, overall packaging, quality, and so on.

At the same time, the V8 seems to be falling in value. It's also gorgeous, and sounds fantastic.

I wouldn't trade my 993 for one. Could I make my 993 my daily driver and get a Vantage for a fun car? Perhaps.

Any thoughts?

icelatte

AM's are just pure car **** sexy. I wouldn't buy one to replace the 993, but as the prices in the secondary market have plunged, it sure makes you think.

It was the car my wife wanted to get if we couldn't have kids.

JDHertz11

My brother in law loves the late model Vantage. It is a beautiful car in my opinion. I may be a bad gauge because I tend to have extremely varied taste. In other words, yes I'd like to own one.

DryFly

Too many fine cars... Sooooo little $$$$$

goofballdeluxe

One could easily make the argument that the Aston also has clear virtues the 993 lacks as well. I think it's really apples to oranges.

I think the Aston is a terrific car. It'll be even more terrific once they start selling in the $50K range or less...

timothymoffat

Beautiful car. How reliable will they be in the long run? Agree with DryFly, there is a seemingly endless supply of cars available for a fraction of their cost when new. Too bad most of us are being very cautious with any extra cash these days. Love to have a Quattroporte (automatic) as a DD.

ilko

I'll tell you a little story...

An editor of a major US car magazine came to my house in the early fall driving a DB9 that he was testing. We then both went out in my RS America for about a 1/2 hour session of driving fast through some mountain roads. After we came back we took the DB9 out. At the end, we both felt the Porsche was the better car from a driver standpoint. Better steering input, better responsiveness, etc. The Aston martin is a fast, but VERY refined car. You can go fast in it and you won't even know it. There are a lot of gizmos to tell you you're breaking the law, but you can never tell from just sitting in the car. In the Porsche you feel the speed. Really feel it.

My ¢2.

icelatte

Agree with the apples and oranges viewpoint. I wouldn't buy an AM as a performance peice unless it was a DBS. It would be the car for cruising, cars and coffee meets, datenight - so for what the majority of sports cars are used for.

swmic

A friend of mine has a black/black 06 coupe with something like 8 K on it. The thing is absolutely gorgeous inside and out! I took it out for a spin a few months back. It's a wonderful touring car and I think only weights a little over 3100 lbs. The one thing I didn't like about it was, it's like driving in a tunnel compared to a 911. Over the summer, someone lightly rear ended him which required a respray of the rear quarter. Since the value is somewhat lowered, he want to take it to a DE this spring. I'll bet he'll be the only one at the track with one.

NC TRACKRAT

I, too have contemplated the A-M. It's a gorgeous vehicle and my wife admires it as well. It's tempting and, even though a dealer is fairly close, I'd hate like Hades to be at their mercy for maintenance &/or repair. I don't believe there's anything close to a "RENNLIST for A-M" is there?

agdamis

NO - They are overpriced crap.

nile13

Interestingly, I feel speed in my CSP Miata (still street legal and driven on public roads) much more so than in a 993.

I think this has to do with refinement. Current cars are so full of creature comforts, so fast and competent, have such excellent brakes and electronic gizmos that are design to protect the drivers from their own stupidity that... they've stopped being enjoyable at street sane speeds long, long time ago. And that, sadly, causes accidents like the one in Ft.L a couple of day ago.

Robin 993DX

I have always loved the Austin Martin, I guess maybe because our family have many ties with the British.

I guess I just don't have time to deal with cars now, already have my hands full with Porsches, Ferraris, and land Rovers... But would love to own one sometime.

I mean, just look at this thing!

OldGuy

Yes I am tempted every time I go to DuPont registry and look for my next Porsche I drift over to the Aston page. However I am always put off by the lack of horsepower.

2Many Cars

I'm a big fan and even own an older one. They're great cars that don't seem to trigger the negative attitude toward owners that some other cars do.

There is, AMOC runs it, but it's not quite as active as Rennlist and the DIY crowd tends to be associated with the older cars (which as I think about it is probably true here as well).

I agree except that's actually a Vanquish S which is quite a bit more car than the Vantage (520hp, 200+ mph, etc.)

There are definitely cars out there that will perform better than an Aston but IMHO few will do it with the same tasteful exclusivity and class.