Special Edition Robb Report Aston Martin V8 Vantage

This sounds like a good way not to be taken very seriously. Turns out that Aston Martin is teaming up with the Robb Report to make a special edition of its V8 Vantage. You could drop this into the same category as making a Nieman-Marcus "special edition"; tweak it a little here and there, jack the price by 31% and rake in the cash from people with more money then sense.

And rally, I got no problem with that. Money is hard to come by, and if you can separate someone who thinks like that from some of their crust, then more power to you. But I do see a downside: It dilutes your brand.

Now, Aston Martin has had its ups and downs. Back in the day, they were a serious sports racing contender, and were capable of worrying the likes of Jaguar and Mercedes and Ferrari at places like Le Mans. They even won there in 1959 with Roy Salvadori and Carroll Shelby as drivers (yes, that Carroll Shelby).

But 50 years later ... well, Aston has been cranking out damn good cars recently, but they have faltered here and the, over the years. Be that as it may, just what would you get if you were to plunk down some long green for the Robb Report V8 Vantage? (And by the way, now that you're on the Euro, what color reference do you use when talking about money?)

First off, you get a very, very black V8 Vantage Roadster. They even go so far as to call it a black-on-black-on-black color scheme. That means black paint o the outside, black fabric for the convertible roof and black interior upholstery. The ride even has black veneer trim on the inside as well. Guess they're going for the Zaphod Beeblebrox demographic.

Other than that, it's pretty much like your "average" V8 Vantage Roadster. You got your 420-horsepower 4.3-liter V8 from the normal V8 Vantage Roadster. The real difference is the number plates, starting with #001 and ending at a very Bondian #007.

Price? For you, a mere $153,000.

Source: AutoBlog