Aston Martin DB5

The driving position of an Aston Martin DB5 has a delightful vintage feel to it, with lots of big, round instruments set within a painted metal dashboard. Sniff the leather, reach out for the controls... and bear in mind that this was intended as a sporting carriage for a gentleman. It’s more golf club and horse-and-hounds than race track, despite the formidable Aston Martin competition heritage. 

You’ll recognise instantly that this is a car that could only have been built in Britain.

Once you’ve got this grand tourer out on the open road, you’ll revel in the torque that big and slightly gruff straight-six engine develops to make every gearchange a thrill in itself. 

There’s a distinctive heaviness about a 1960s Aston Martin, and that helps to give the cars a satisfying feeling of quality and solidity. You’ll certainly notice the weight under cornering and, if you’re pushing on, you might also notice that over-enthusiastic cornering will make the tail run a little wide. Steady! It’s still somebody else’s car – for the moment, anyway.