Thursday 30 December 2021

Aston Martin DB7 - best car design evaahhh

The one and only; the original
The other day I happened upon a Kia 'Stinger', of all ridiculous things, and for the 294th time I found myself saying: no prizes for guessing where they got that design ...

Yes, it is the greatest car style ever designed, the Aston Martin DB7.  Which itself didn't just come from nowhere, of course: the marque evolved organically, and by the time of the DB3 the pattern was well and truly formed.  After the DB6, Aston Martin took a wrong turn (in business terms as well as styling) with the DBS, an Italianised parody of a design, albeit very much of its time.  

But with the DB7 which followed a longish while later, they'd perfected the art.  And every single vehicle designer in every car manufacturer ever since has self-evidently had it in the back of their minds at all times.  Sometimes, when the boss has just rejected their nth drawing-board effort for the new model, there's only one way to satisfy demand.  Audi, BMW, Ford, Jaguar, Kia, Mercedes, Toyota, (you can add to the list for yourselves**) ... they've all harked back to the immaculate tapering rear hatch, the lithe haunches, and even - Ford, this especially means You - the grill and front lamps.  (On a Fiesta, FFS!)  It's shameless, it's unimaginative, and it's Not Clever.

Actually, though, it probably is quite clever.  It is, after all, the design everyone really wants on their front drive, whether subconsciously or not.     

Just briefly, a few decades ago, Mercedes had pulled off something similar with its deceptively simple 3-flat-box design, which Ford and Toyota and even Audi raced to emulate.  But that's about as far as it went.   

Essence of DB7.  That's what every car manufacturer wants sprinkled on its products.  Just like they spray that leather smell inside.  Gotta have it.

ND

** and Bentley, and Lexus, and Maserati, and Tesla ...

8 comments:

Matt said...

Didn't Ford own Aston at the time of the DB7 launch? You can hardly blame them for stealing their own designs! Especially since Ian Callum was ex-Ford anyway.

dearieme said...

The best car design is a contest between the Land Rover Series III and the later Land Rover Discovery I.

The Messerschmitt bubble car comes in third.

andrew said...


I slightly preferred the 1990s Jag xk8 - esp the convertible, it was ...curvier
and a bit less aggressive.

and cheaper

lilith said...

Ah yes, and with a characteristic engine noise that ensures all the neighbours know when you are coming and going! No other car says "Look at what I'm driving, Suckers" like the DB7 :)

Anonymous said...

2007-2015 XK for me….in liquid silver.

Nick Drew said...

... and the XK rear =, errr, DB7!

http://www.eurocarnews.com/media/pictorials/1251/5722.jpg

Anonymous said...

Nick,

XK bum….Can’t argue that!

Anonymous said...

Capri mk2 every day!