Seventh heaven
I can’t belIeve that I have owned my DB7 for eight years! I bought it in the depths of winter in February 2012, and had to be careful driving it home through heavy snow. Since then it’s been a total pleasure to own and drive.
Last year saw something of a milestone when the DB7 hit 125,000 miles. However, it had a newish engine fitted at 105,000, which has now actually covered only 30,000 miles. Overall, it really doesn’t feel like a high-mileage car. Everything is still very tight and works perfectly, and there is that lovely distinctive smell in the cockpit that all Astons of that period seem to have. I suspect it is the Connolly leather.
One date that was highly anticipated last year was the 25th Anniversary celebration of the DB7. Trouble was, I was scheduled to have a hip operation a month before, and was concerned that I might not be mobile enough postop to make it to the event. It certainly motivated me to do all the exercises recommended for my rehabilitation! However, there was one obstacle I could not overcome: I would not be insured to drive for six weeks after the operation.
That’s where one of my kind neighbours stepped in. A fellow classic car enthusiast and a chauffeur in his spare time, he volunteered to drive me there. I’d forgotten that he is well over six feet tall, so his head stuck above the windscreen top rail, but he was only too happy to catch bugs in his teeth and be pummelled by the wind on our journey.
As we drove up the long drive of the Wormsley Estate – home to the Getty family – we thought we were in the wrong place, but the Estate is so large that even a huge gathering of cars fits into a tiny part of it! When we finally arrived there were DB7s as far as the eye could see, 341 of them in fact, a rare and awesome sight. Because I was on crutches, we were invited to park right next to the Opera
House. The event was strongly supported by Octane and Vantage magazines, copies of which were given to every visitor.
The AMOC and the AMHT had jointly organised a spectacular event. Besides the incredible line-up of cars, which included an array of Zagatos as well as the original NPX prototype, two i6 GT Competition prototypes, the ItalDesign Twenty Twenty concept by Giugiaro and the awesome TWR V12, there was an equally stellar gathering of VIPs and Aston specialists. Ian Callum, Richard Hayes (son of Walter Hayes), Kingsley RidingFelce,
and Christian Bolognesi from ItalDesign were all present and mingling with the owners and visitors.
Every DB7 owner received a specially commissioned metal badge, along with a 32-page souvenir booklet, and my wife is now the proud owner of an AMOC black T-shirt with the DB7 logo emblazoned across it – though I suspect I’m rather more pleased with it than she is.