Aston Martin DB7 Manual

"Short of rowing for Oxford at the Henley Regatta with a double Tanqueray and tonic balanced on your knee, there are few experiences more acutely British than climbing into an Aston Martin DB7." As Car and Driver reported in September 1996, the DB7 set new standards for the world's most famous brand and went on to become the most successful Aston ever, with more than 7,000 made before it was replaced by the DB9 in 2003. Impeccably styled by Ian Callum, the DB7 is also widely considered to be one of the most beautiful cars of all time.

Put together like no Aston before, each bodyshell took five days to complete before being shipped off to Rolls-Royce for a paint job so deep you could drown in it. The engines were based on proven Jaguar units but were assembled and reworked by Tom Walkinshaw Racing. The 24-valve in-line six displaces only 3.2 litres, but with some 15psi of supercharged atmosphere rammed down its intakes, it produces a massive 335bhp at 5,750rpm, sufficient to hurl the Aston to 60 in just 5.7 seconds on its way to a top speed of 165mph. It also sounds wonderful with a spine-tingling wail as the supercharger spools up to do its work. The handling also inspires confidence and was specially developed for British roads, while the ride is superb for such a sporting model.

Subtle touches abound, like tiny tubes that funnel air-conditioned breezes to each headlamp nacelle, keeping the lenses fog-free. And before you close the doors, the side glass drops a half-inch to ease the process, then rises again to provide a perfect seal. Best of all, some 16 years down the line and the car still has a fine reputation for reliability, a rare quality in a supercar of this performance.

This Dubonnet Red example dates from 1997 and is a very rare five-speed manual gearbox model. A real delight for the more sporting driver, the manual box allows you to make best use of the mountain of mid-range torque available from the 335bhp supercharged engine. Other features include a sports exhaust with a spine-tingling bark and split rim alloy wheels.

This car has covered less than 49,000 miles from new and comes with a fair amount of bills and service history including 8 service stamps to date, the last at 35,634 miles. With an MOT until March 2011 it is said to drive beautifully with excellent performance – the kind of car that will have you leaping out of bed early on a Sunday morning just to go for a blast on your favourite country road. Although some 7,000 DB7 cars were made in all, just 1,567 were six-cylinder coupes and only a handful of these had the manual gearbox, making this a rare bird indeed that is sure to become very collectable.