Aston Martin DB7 Vantage review
Aston Martin DB7 Vantage Road Test
Test date 23 June 1999
Price as tested £94,500
For Strong, muscular looks, excellent brakes, wonderful V12 engine
Against Little steering feel, cramped rear and a few cheap Ford switches ruin cabin
Aston Martin launched the DB7 in 1994 after showing it the year before at the Geneva Motor Show and its birth is interesting. The bones of the car come out of a stillborn Jaguar project, intended to replace the XJS, which explains why there’s a shortage of space in the cabin. The DB7 really gave Aston a future – the V8 cars couldn’t be depended on to provide volume sales. The DB7 certainly has, for there have now been more of them built than any other Aston Martin of the past.
Not only does the car have an all-new Cosworth-developed V12 that produces 420bhp, but substantial changes have also been made to the chassis. There are a host of changes under the svelte skin, but when you consider the engine alone you realise what Aston was up to. It wanted to build the ultimate car that could not be matched by rivals. Essentially it is a mating of two Ford Duratec V6 engines as fitted to the Mondeo and the Cougar, but there’s far more to it than that.
Cosworth is responsible for engine manufacture, from casting to assembly and testing. Similar to the TWR-built six, a plaque on top of the engine identifies the inspector who signed off the car before it left Aston’s Bloxham factory – it’s just one of the little details that demonstrate, quite clearly, that no corners have been cut with the Vantage.
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