Fast Facts

• Best model: V12 GT
• Worst model: Anything tatty
• Budget buy: DB7 Auto (six)
• OK for unleaded?: Yes
• Will it fit in the garage? (mm): mm L 4620 x W 1820
• Spares situation: Getting patchy
• DIY ease?: No, not really!
• Club support: Usual AMOC
• Appreciating asset?: Moving on up
• Good buy or good-bye?: Only if you buy well

Without doubt the DB7 is one of the best looking Astons ever but sadly body rot can be surprisingly bad, especially after ‘02 cars where underseal wasn’t applied as standard

Tyres and rims are critical

headlamps used to be scarce but now okay

A nicer environment than the XK8 we reckon although it’s as tight. Trim stamina isn’t up to Porsche levels so watch for deterioration. Ford bits mean that some repairs are cheap

Although the 3.2 ‘blown’ engine is XJR-based it’s not the same as Aston used a racing block. Like the V12, it’s a tough unit if looked after and can be maintained by Jag specialists

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Much more than a the ‘Jag in drag’ the DB7 is the most affordable Aston of them all as well as being arguably the best looking! What more could you ask for?

Take a Jaguar XJ-S, tune and improve it plus give it a body to die for (one the XJ-S always lacked) and what have you got? No, not the XK8 but the Aston Martin DB7! Launched a couple of years before the Jag, although the cars look and appear similar – and were both owned by Ford – they were developed and produced by seperate companies. Although no pastiche, the DB7 was designed to rekindle happy memories of the lean and mean DB4 – days before Aston started to big-up and bulk-up their cars. The resultant DB7 certainly did that, not least due to the input of important big wigs in the industry; Sir Jackie Stewart, legendary Aston Martin racer Innes Ireland, David Brown himself and not forgetting the Aston Martin Owners Club… They all had a vital role to play in making the DB7 (a car fi rst mooted years before by Aston boss and massive car enthusiast Victor Gauntlett), a reality. A new Aston is always a major happening and even Rolls-Royce wanted to get involved and painted the cars! As a ‘new DB4’ the DB7 ticked all the right boxes, while it also gained a new fanbase – women! Whereas Astons of old were always regarded as ‘mens’ motors, the svelte lines of the DB7 plus its modern ease of driving, marked it out as a prestige GT for anybody, so long as they had the money that is – try £78,000 for starters. Today you can pick up a DB7 for a quarter of this and not be fi nancially ruined either. The DB7, with its mix of Ford components and Jaguar hardware, is just about the only Aston Martin most of us can afford to buy and run.

History

What fi rst started off as a vague idea in 1987 fi nally made it to the showrooms in 1994, thanks largely to Ford and the late Tom Walkinshaw who rebuilt Jaguar’s reputation on the race tracks (winning Le Mans three times), and developed and built the Aston at his TWR factory. Based upon the XJ-S, but extensively modifi ed, the DB7 was more than just a dressed up Jaguar – as many would have you believe. It was initially available in coupe form only; it wouldn’t be until 1996 that the high style Volante soft top would appear, complete with a powered fabric roof. Power came from a supercharged Jaguar straight six – but it’s not the normal XJR unit. No, for the Aston it was based upon a downsized 3.2, but Walkinshaw employed a thicker block that was used in racing to enable the supercharger to be used at full pelt, producing 335bhp (4-litre XJR is rated at 321bhp). If those six-cylinder DB7s had been the entrée, the V12-engined Vantage that arrived in 1999 was the main dish – and very tasty too. Once the DB7had become established, experimental cars included a V12 GT that could have instigated a one make series and a V8 racer that failed to qualify at Le Mans. However logic dictated that as the XJ-S platform was originally designed as a V12 – and as Aston already had such an engine – the DB7 V12 Vantage was the answer, all six-litre 420bhp of it! From the outset, this replacement for the straight six model was offered in both coupé and Volante forms. Things ticked over nicely for three years, but by 2002 there was a run-out DB7 on sale, called the GT. There was also an automatic edition available, wearing GTA badges. Both were really Vantage-tuned models under a GT name. In the same year, the DB7 Zagato also made its debut, but no cars were delivered until 2003 – and even then, a mere 99 examples were constructed. The fi nal fl ourish came in 2003, when the Zagato-bodied Vantage Volante was unveiled; the DB AR1. Just 99 were made, aimed at the American market, although eight European cars were produced. All of these featured left-hand drive, apart from one. The fi nal DB7s (10th anniversary models) were also built in 2003, just before the DB9 came along.

Driving

Cynics called the DB7 the ‘XJ7’, a Jag in drag due to its Browns Lane hardware, but the Aston enjoys its own identity over the XK8 even if in terms of pace there’s not much in it. The ‘six’ DB7 is slightly faster than an XK8, ditto the V12 against the XKR, although it would take a stopwatch and a pedantic driver to confi rm it. The fi rst supercharged DB7s have more than ample shove to wear the DB moniker with justifi cation, even if the automatic ‘box (as many came so equipped) took the edge off it. However, many feel that it was only when the shatteringly fast V12 Vantage arrived that the DB7 truly came of age. You’d instantly think that, with the racing experience of Walkinshaw, the DB7 would handle that bitbetter than the XK8, even if it was at the expense of the ride. Not so, as some regard the Jaguar as the slightly better all rounder, although Derek Campbell of Chiltern Aston (01442 833 177, http://www.db7centre. co.uk) says the DB7, especially the ‘six’, is far more the ‘driver’s car’ thanks to a better suspension and weight distribution – better than the V12 in fact. Perhaps it now depends purely on the state of the running gear and tyres, but it’s unlikely that a good DB7 will disappoint you, apart from only average brakes. When you fi rst slip behind the wheel of a DB7, it’ll make a big difference what you’ve left behind and which edition you get into. If you’ve moved from an early Aston into any DB7 then it’ll be a revelation, but if you’re an enthusiastic driver coming from a contemporary 911 for an early DB7, you’ll be disappointed. Those fi rst cars offered pace certainly, but the cabin ergonomics and build quality were all below par, plus they’re as cramped as any Jag, too. As a result, the series 2 cars, unveiled for the 1997 model year in 1996, were a big improvement, particularly the anchors. Even then, it wasn’t until the fi nal V12 incarnation arrived, the GT, that the DB7 could really give its rivals a run for their money dynamically at least if not for build quality. If you think this all sounds far too negative, please bear in mind that unless you wring the DB7’s neck every time you take yours out, you’re not going to get anywhere near the Astons high limits on the road. For the typical ‘classic’ driver, the DB7’s performance will be the stuff of dreams. You could use it every day, but that would dilute the pleasure and a real world fuel return of around 20mpg would do your bank balance no good at all. Bear in mind, also, that post March 2001 cars qualify for the VED current tax bands.

Prices

This is where that dream can turn into a nightmare! Earliest cars, like a N-reg ‘six’, are now worth perhaps as little as £10-12,000 but will typically need another £15,000 spent to make them decent (and fi t for retail says Chiltern Aston). There are a lot of sad DB7s out there and Campbell reckons that 20 per cent of them aren’t worth touching even with anybody’s bargepole. Mainstream guide prices still apply to the DB7 and Glass’s Guide ‘books’ a Vantage at £22,000 on the forecourt, £14,500 trade, with the manual transmission worth just hundreds more. On average the Volantes are valued at £2-3000 over a coupe, although top cars will command higher prices. In fact, top DB7s can sell for more than the latest V8s. Because the GTA is only a restyled Vantage, it isn’t worth a premium over the standard car but their rarity may cause some sellers to ask for it. Cars with the Driving Dynamics package are highly sought after, carrying a hefty 20-25 per cent premium. This package allowed owners to pick and mix between brake, suspension, wheel and bodywork upgrades but most opted to buy one or two upgrades rather than the whole shebang. The whole kit costed £15,000 from new but it’s still available off the shelf for around a third less; choosing the chassis improvements alone is money well spent. These series 1 DB7s have a purer interior design than the series 2 of 1996; those are the cars with airbags, comfi er seats, softer damping plus more powerful brakes and headlights.

Improvements

For many, a standard DB7 is heaven – so long as it’s in good nick. This is where spending a bit extra on a top car pays dividends as does having this Aston thoroughly checked and serviced by a good specialist; the suspension geometry is critical, for example. Bringing up the brakes on a DB7 to V12 spec is a wise policy while performance on the 3.2 ‘blown’ engine can be upped by 50bhp with better charge cooling. Hardly an ‘improvement’ but we know of a few DB7s which have been converted to lesser Jag AJ6 power to save on repair costs. When it comes to tyres, pressures and brands make a big difference. It’s also best to stick to the Bridgestone Expedias (S01 on DB7 and S02 on Vantage) originally specifi ed by the factory; they suit the DB7’s chassis better than anything else available. Chiltern Aston says any ‘blinged’ cars are immediately reverted to standard because the wheel offset is so critical.

Three Of A Kind

Jaguar XK8

Developed and launched in tandem with the Aston, albeit from different Ford divisions, some regard the Jaguar as the better driver over the DB7 and it certainly matches the Aston for power and pace. Compared to the DB7, the rival Jaguar looks absurdly cheap and you need to test drive both to confi rm to yourself if the Aston is worth double. The Jag has far a more widespread specialist network.

Aston Martin Virage

If you hanker for a bargain old school Aston then it has to be the Virage, which is even cheaper to buy, if not run than a DB7. Early models were never liked and build was iffy, but that stalwart V8 always went well in uprated 32-valve tune while Aston got the car back on track with the redesigned Vantage, which is a much better GT. Excellent value all round on all, some good ones sell for around £10K.

Mercedes-Benz R129

Another bargain GT, the R129 is the more modern replacement to the well respected R107 range. Hugely accomplished and built like you’d expect a Mercedes to be, it comes with a wide range of powerplants, from straight six to V12, meaning there’s one to suit most pockets. The rare SL60 is a nailed-on future classic. Excellent independent repair base means servicing and repairs are surprisingly containable.