We drove a $70,000 Corvette and a $273,000 Aston Martin to see which car we liked better — here’s the verdict

I’ve often said that Aston Martins are the thinking person’s Corvettes.

But I should probably stop saying that, not least because the latest generation of the Vette, built with pride in Bowling Green, Kentucky, is the sports car many people would buy — if they thought seriously about their purchase. Basically, the Corvette is where the truly smart money should look.

That said, Aston Martins are still Aston Martins: James Bond’s ride, an icon of style, expensive as all get out, but in many ways totally worth it. I often want to argue with Aston because the price tags are so high. And then I slip behind the wheel and all is immediately forgiven.

I recently reviewed an Aston Martin DB11 Volante, a $273,244 convertible version of the DB11, the British carmaker’s successor to the DB9. What a car!

But I was reminded, as I went through my usual Corvette counter-analysis, that I’d checked out a similarly spec’d Vette — the Grand Sport — a while back and was blown away by this $70,000 beast. For the record, Astons and Vettes might be separated by $200,000, but they go head to head on some of the world’s greatest race tracks in endurance racing, most notably at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

So let’s say you want to drop a considerable amount of coin on an Aston — just because, you know, it’s an Aston. Should you step back and potentially save yourself a few hundred grand by at least considering the Vette?

I think it’s a worthy exercise. So let’s get to it.

Photos by Hollis Johnson, unless otherwise indicated.