Dulcet V12 goodness for less | Six of the best

The V12 is moving into an interesting era. The long prophesied fall has not yet come true. Instead, the configuration is retained for the next generation from Lamborghini and Ferrari, and adored by specialist manufacturers such as Gordon Murray Automotive. It may all have borrowed time – but as long as the 12 reels remain a lightning rod for some kind of money-less enthusiasm, they will continue, albeit at ever wilder premiums. Thank goodness for a bazaar that gives you all the majesty at a fraction of the price. A barely run Mercedes SL 65 AMG with 612bhp from its 6.0 liter Hammer of the God unit? From £85,000 you get a fiver back. Bosch.

The supercharged Mercedes monster is, of course, a holdover from the 20th century leviathan. The Rolls-Royce Ghost is interesting in that, unlike several of its main rivals (and it’s well aware of which side its bread is buttered on), it will be at war with its regal 6.75-liter V12 engine until 2030. Obviously, its manufacturer can point to a more gentle to the environment. customers to the Spectre, but for those who don’t like change, the twelve cylinders are set to remain in the lineup for many years with a monolith-like presence. Which will help keep the prices of ten-year-old specimens affordable for the hoi polloi. Here’s a nice looking one with the older 6.6 liter unit for fifty quid less than £90k.

If the Roller is too biased towards rear-seat comfort for your taste, how about a manual DBS with no rear seats? Admittedly, this model wasn’t Aston’s finest hour in terms of model differentiation at the time, but now it’s easier to appreciate for its own sake – especially when you’re picking which ratio to go with Bond-like precision. The seller estimates that only 61 examples of the DBS were built in Lightning Silver with a six-speed manual gearbox and Obsidian Black leather interior looks quite timeless. It also has a full Aston service history and only 31,000 miles since 2009. To death, right?

If £90,000 is too rich for your blood, how about £19,000? Obviously, the Flying Spur upsets the applecart slightly by not featuring a V12 – although its inimitable W-shaped configuration hasn’t stopped Bentley from selling far more twelve-cylinder engines than virtually anyone else over the past 20 years. You don’t need us to tell you that earlier examples are plentiful for hatchback money in adverts offering the usual mix of pomp and danger, but we’re always happy to remind people that this experience is quite unlike any other. Especially when you paid a fraction of the retail price for a car with only one previous owner and a Bentley stamped service book.

For anyone who simply must have a full-fat hit of V12 goodness in its most distilled form, there’s no better supplier than Ferrari. And arguably no finer exponent than the epoch-making F140 range, which began life in the Enzo more than 20 years ago and continues justly in the upcoming 12Cilnidri. Its more exotic variations rightfully cost the country, but used examples of the 599 GTB – as good a front-engined car as Ferrari has ever produced – are probably among the best pound for pound available anywhere at the moment, if you’re inclined to its 6.0-litre V12 with an output of 620 hp, it is among the best gasoline-burning engines ever. And we are inclined. This one sits nicely with 29,000 on the clock.

Finally, something completely different. Needless to say, Jaguar’s relationship with V12 engines is vast and occasionally epic. Between 1971 and 1997, it produced 161,583 examples of its flagship, many of them the fuel-injected 5.3-litre V12 that takes pride of place in this good-looking XJ-C. The coupe version of the XJ has its own lively history to speak of – not all of it exemplary – but on the basis that it’s a nearly 50-year-old classic today, we can simply put all the trappings in the box marked ‘TLC required’. This one has obviously enjoyed a lot from its first and only owner. If you’d like to be the latter (on the back of a six-figure restoration), the asking price is a very reasonable-sounding £65k.