No4. Aston Martin DB5 (2012)
SOMETIMES it’s hard to avoid a cliché. And when you’re invited to drive James Bond’s Aston Martin DB5 – yes, complete with BMT 216A registration – you have to dress the part. So I went full tuxedo – at 6am – and headed straight for MI5’s headquarters by London’s Westminster Bridge for the photoshoot.
There’s no chance anyone mistook me for Britain’s favourite spy – more probably a bloke who’d had a good night out and was still on his way home. But being behind the wheel of one of the world’s most iconic cars made me feel like a million dollars. Probably the value of the car, too.
The excitement of driving around Parliament Square in a DB5 overshadowed the fact that, bluntly, the DB5 isn’t all that nice to drive by today’s standards. Its straight-six, four-litre engine rumbles away nicely up front, with the beautiful dials with their wobbling needles trying so hard to give an accurate reading. But throttle response is a bit slow, leading to a 0-60mph time of just over eight seconds, while the car leans through corners as you hang on to the heavy unassisted steering. At least the ride is more likely to leave you stirred than shaken.
However, drive many a sixties legend and you’ll come away with tears in your eyes for what it represents and how it makes you feel, rather than what it actually does. Fun doesn’t always have to be measured in fast figures, and the smell of the DB5 alone will make the hairs on the back of your neck stand to attention. And, frankly, to enjoy the DB5 you don’t have to drive it – you can just admire it. Those elegant flowing lines combine with just enough shiny chrome details to make this the most beautiful car I have ever seen.
“The beautiful dials with wobbling needles were trying so hard to give an accurate reading”