6 Beautiful Cars That Are Too Terrible To Actually Drive

1. Aston Martin DB7

The DB7 is easily one of the prettiest Aston Martins ever produced, but it was never a genuine performance car. In a move to lower costs, the DB7 was based on the ancient Jaguar XJS platform. As a result, the DB7 suffered from wooly steering, an unresponsive chassis and copious amounts of body roll.

Things weren’t much better on the inside. With Ford owning Aston at the time, the interior was festooned with buttons from the Blue Oval parts bin, making the expensive GT feel distinctly low-rent. Ultimately, these cars are better suited for a museum as opposed to the open road.

2. Disco Volante by Touring Superleggera

The Disco Volante by Carrozzeria Touring Superleggera is arguably the sexiest coach-built car on sale today. Based on the Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione, Touring managed to improve upon a masterpiece, blending 1950s aesthetics with modern-day performance. A shame then that the driving experience doesn’t live up to the good looks.

You see, the Alfa 8C was a pretty terrible performance car, with road testers complaining of body-roll, poor steering feel and unpredictable handling on the limit. The solution: if you own one, park it in your living room and just stare at it.

3. Maserati 3200 GT

The Maserati 3200 GT was a truly stunning design. The earlier 1998-2002 cars - with their gorgeous LED boomerang rear lights - were the prettiest models, helping to show off the svelte but muscular waistline of the Giorgetto Giugiaro-designed body. But, the beautiful package was ultimately ruined by terrible driving dynamics.

A sensitive steering rack, dim-witted automatic gearbox and floaty suspension resulted in a car that was difficult to hustle down a back road. The twin-turbocharged 3.2-litre V8 with 370bhp was the only redeeming feature.

4. BMW Z8

With its retro 507-inspired looks, the Z8 is beautiful machine, but it never hit the mark dynamically because of its lack of steering feel, chronic understeer and soft suspension that gave the BMW an identity crisis: was it a cruiser, a sports car or a grand tourer? Nobody really knew…

The E39 M5-derived 4.9-litre V8 gave the car sufficient straight line poke, but it wasn’t enough to save the dodgy package. If there was ever a car that deserves to be put on a plinth, it’s the Z8.

5. DeLorean DMC-12

When the DMC-12 was released back in 1981, it was a huge flop. With its rear-engined layout, stainless steel body and incredible gullwing doors, it promised so much and delivered so little. Build quality and reliability was horrendous and the rear-mounted, 150bhp, 2.85-litre V6 made the car woefully slow.

American customers got an even rawer deal, with US-spec DeLoreans featuring a power-sapping catalytic converter. With only 130bhp on tap, 0-60mph was achieved in an agonising10 seconds. We’d naturally love one in our garage as a show piece, but that’s where it’d stay.

6. Spyker C8

Dutch car maker Spyker is the master of stunning automotive details. When the original C8 was launched, the world went into a collective crisis. With an exposed manual gearbox, propellor-inspired steering wheel and CNC-pressed dashboard, it was achingly beautiful.

Unfortunately, the same couldn’t be said about its dynamic capabilities. The 4.2-litre, 400bhp, V8 engine ensured that the C8 was rapid in a straight line, but it struggled when it reached the corners. Road testers complained of terrible understeer, poor brakes and a harsh ride. The C8, then, is the kind of car you could look at for hours on end. Which is just as well, because you wouldn’t want to drive it.

What other cars do you think should be reserved for museum purposes only and kept off the roads?