Porsche 911 Carrera S (992) versus Aston Martin Vantage V8. 54 points of retained value between them — ~£186 per horsepower plays ~£47 on today’s market.
The 2019 Vantage V8 has done something remarkable: it's destroyed enough of its own value to become genuinely interesting. At auction today it's trading at roughly 20% of its £120,900 MSRP, which translates to around £47 per horsepower. That is a staggering number for a 503bhp, AMG-sourced twin-turbo V8 wrapped in proper Aston bodywork. The price trend is still softening slightly, so it hasn't fully bottomed out, but the fall from grace is largely behind it. You are buying a lot of car for very little money. The 992 Carrera S retains considerably more of its original value — auction data suggests somewhere around 74% of its £120,500 MSRP, though that figure comes from only four model-wide sales with no data specific to the Carrera S trim, so treat it cautiously. What it does tell you is that Porsche's residuals remain brutal in the buyer's favour if you're shopping new, and far less dramatic if you're hunting value on the used market. At roughly £186 per horsepower versus the Vantage's £47, you're paying a significant premium for the 911's refinement, benchmark status, and the knowledge that it does everything brilliantly without ever alarming you. The 992 is the faster car to 62mph despite producing less power, which tells you everything about its engineering polish. The better buy is the Vantage. If you wanted effortless and refined, you'd buy a Cayenne. The Aston is louder, edgier, and more demanding — and at this price, those aren't drawbacks. They're the whole point.