Everyone knows that attempting to bankroll an old V12 car, be it a BMW, Jaguar, Aston Martin or anything, really, is a very poor decision. That doesn’t mean owning a V12 is not extremely appealing.
If owning a money dump V12 is something you’re interested in, our friends over at CarThrottle have put together a handy list of six relatively cheap V12 cars to get one of the most questionable financial decisions of you life off the ground:
- The BMW 750il offers you a V12 in the body of the best era of the 7 Series and one of the best BMW designs of all time. You can get it with a manual. It’s engine is a cousin of what eventually went into the McLaren F1, which is something anyone would be proud to brag about owning such a car.
- The BMW 850i. You get the same V12 as in the 750il, only in another stunning BMW design in a sportier Gran Touring package.
- The Jaguar XJS. It was around forever despite being kind of questionably designed. You can find some of the earlier ones with a 5.3L V12, or later upgraded cars with a 6.0 liter. Just be warned that this car likes to just sort of fall apart and “ruin your life.”
- Mercedes CL600. If BMWs aren’t your thing and you want something with some modern styling, the 5.8L CL600 is a tempting way to V12 glory. It’s just got a really troubling hydraulic suspension system that could cause you problems.
- Mercedes SL600. If you’d rather go 90s Mercedes, the 400 horsepower and 5.8 second zero to 60 time should edge this towards the top of the list.
- Aston Martin DB7 Vantage. It may sound too exotic for a list of “cheap” V12 cars, but there aren’t really very many V12 cars to go around and our friend Depreciation is here to help. Even if its V12 is just two Ford engines serving as bunkmates. If you want something a little better for your V12 needs, splurge for an early DB9.
Or, yaknow, find yourself a really good V8 and just accept that sometimes you need to know when to limit yourself.
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