T’S 25 years since I fi rst drove a DB7, when, as a freshfaced, 25-year-old aspiring journalist, I helped a wellknown motoring magazine with a four-car photoshoot on the Suff olk coast. Pitched against a then new Lotus Esprit V8, Ferrari 355 and Porsche 911 Carrera, in terms of performance and interior packaging, the Aston was overshadowed by all three and the feature’s writer, Jason Barlow, placed it last. “Whatever its aspirations, the DB7 is outclassed in this company.”
Yet, while I remember little about the other cars, the DB7 left an indelible impression on me, and not just because the early satellite navigation didn’t have any of Norfolk’s roads mapped, leaving me lost.
Despite my inexperience with such cars, even I could recognise it was the most elegant looking of the assembled quartet and although the 3.2 was unrefi ned compared to the Ferrari’s V8, it was still powerful.
A quarter of a century later and after driving two very diff erent examples for the car’s 30th anniversary feature on page 14, my view hasn’t changed. I’ll be the fi rst to admit, though, that whatever the iteration, the DB7 isn’t the greatest built model in Aston’s long history but it remains one of the prettiest. And although the Jaguar-sourced straight-six lacks the smoothness of other, more modern units, the 5.9 V12 fi tted to the later models transforms the car into a rocket ship.
Who knows what I’ll be driving in another 25 years. But one thing is for certain; I won’t forget my fi rst DB7 experience.

Paul Walton
Editor

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