Like virtually any special edition model, it is certainly possible to regard the Aston Martin Valour with a cynical eyebrow raised. It was based on old tech, after all, yet appeared with an astronomical, seven-figure price tag despite not being (in the grand scheme of things) all that rare. It wasn’t irrefutably great to look at either - and definitely not very clever inside. But we prefer the alternative view: as Gaydon’s 110th birthday present to itself and a love letter to the purists who clamoured for nothing more than complicated than three pedals, with a giant, sledgehammer of an engine ahead of them.
Of course, by limiting the Valour to 110 examples (one for each year of Aston’s existence) and implying that this was a real man’s supercar - i.e. one that defied the relentless march of automation by demanding that you drive it properly - the manufacturer promptly sold the entire production run before needing to show it to anyone else. And who can blame anyone lucky enough to be on the end of the phone call: here, after all, is a 715hp twin-turbo V12, marshalled by a six-speed Graziano ‘box and shoehorned into Philip K. Dick’s idea of a muscle car.
Would you have said ‘no’, with all the money in the world at your disposal? Probably not. The original owner of this example certainly didn’t; indeed, they rolled the boat out when it came to making the car their own. According to the vendor, the chameleon-style Valhalla Andromeda Red is a £100,000 paint option alone. And that was just the jumping-off point for umpteen Q-based personalisations, which extend everywhere from the satin red-tinted carbon fibre interior trims to the bronze-tinted 21-inch honeycomb alloy wheels.
Nevertheless, you’d still be buying it chiefly for what’s underneath all the tinsel. Sure, the platform was reheated and the diff mechanical. And the old 5.2-litre motor is now very much in the shadow of the all-singing 835hp V12 installed in the new Vanquish. We can’t even look at the infotainment screen without yelping like Pavlov's dog. But its relative hoariness (how Aston has moved in a year) almost works in its favour: there’s no option to nonchalantly paddle shift while scrolling through Instagram here, you’re going to be working that big lever like a man at the bellows - especially if you want to replicate the quoted 3.5-second-to-60mph performance.
Hopefully, this Valour’s first keeper spent some of the 2,808 recorded miles doing exactly that before he (or indeed, she) decided it was time to move the car on. At any rate, it is said to come complete with its original book, a six-piece luggage set (naturally), spare keys, car cover, and battery conditioner - and, unsurprisingly, presents in as-new condition. Which arguably makes this one something of a bargain, based on the £200k which is claimed to have been shaved from the original price.
We say ‘bargain’ - you’ll still need somewhere in the ballpark of £1.5m to make Valour ownership a reality. Aston never officially revealed a starting cost when it launched the car, though it suggested that initial discussions kicked off north of a million quid. If it’s hard to see how someone could get so far beyond that point, you’re not using your imagination nor applying Q division’s money-no-object markup. Better to look at this example through the eyes of someone who has been through the process of commissioning a superyacht. They’re a cynical bunch, too. But apparently just as susceptible to a love letter as the rest of us.
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