You are, of course, quite right Bourekoue. There's no doubting that the later 4.7 QP GTS is technically better than the earlier 4.2 QP GTS, it's just that I prefer the original styling of the earlier car. Just as in the same way I like the early LP400 Countach over the later Anniversary Countach (as an example).
The Rapide is a lovely thing, but not as practical or reliable as the QP. The running costs of a V12 Aston are higher than those of a V8 Maserati also. Nice though. And the deprecation on the early cars seems to be levelling out now. A friend of mine bought a very nice one earlier this summer for about £80k which seemed very good value. He traded in his old DB9 for it, and instantly reported just how much more modern and advanced (and plain better) the Rapide was to drive. Certainly worth a close inspection and test drive.