Though the current Aston Martin Lagonda is a thing of beauty, anyone who grew up in the '80s knows it lives in the sharp-edged shadow of its predecessor.
Stretching a whopping 208 inches long, but barely taller than a modern Miata, the 1979-1989 Lagonda was an icon of its time, with an extremely angular body crafted of hand-hammered aluminum and covered in 23 layers of paint. Its interior featured mirror-matched walnut trim, a wool headliner, and the hides of 11 unlucky bovines. Rather than conventional analog instrumentation, the Aston featured a finicky digital dash and touchpad controls. (Reliability is for poors.)
And this car was decidedly not for poors... The Lagonda cost $150,000 back in 1983, the equivalent of $371,000 in today's dollars. Its cost and immensely labor-intensive assembly process kept total production to only 645 over its 11-year run.
The U.S. allotment was only about 25 cars per year, so these big sporty sedans don't come up for sale very often. Luckily, there's a white example currently listed in Kansas for just under $70,000. This partially restored 1983 model was formerly owned by renowned actress and husband-collector Elizabeth Taylor, who used it in a perfume commercial.
The new Lagonda costs a million dollars. Even the comparatively plebeian Bentley Flying Spur will set you back over $200,000. So $70,000 is kind of a bargain, if you think about it, but not too hard.
Taylor's former ride was heavily modified in 2012. Both its instrumentation and engine are now sourced from a Corvette, which might make it a bit easier to live with. Regrettably, it's also been pimped out with three separate video screens and garish wheels, but you can take care of that later with all the money you save avoiding newer, lesser, non-perfumed, cars.