Aston Martin DB7 - best car design evaahhh

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