Aston Martin DB7 Vantage Touchtronic

It was always said that Aston Martin lost money on every car it produced and the several owners of the company undoubtedly found this to be true.

One of the main board director’s friends once asked if he could buy one through him at cost, to which the reply was a gleeful “oh yes please – if you would”. Things changed a lot when the Ford Motor Company became a majority shareholder in September 1987. Chief Executive Victor Guantlett was asked to stay on and develop a new ‘small’ Aston to be produced in a separate factory away from the Newport Pagnell headquarters. Thus was born the Aston Martin DB7, the development team now headed by chairman Walter Hayes with Bob Dover and engineer Nick Fry, all Ford men of long standing.

The prototype was completed in November 1992 and shown to the public to huge acclaim at the Geneva salon in March 1993. Tom Walkinshaw Racing had helped develop the in-line six-cylinder 24-valve engine of 3230cc with an Eaton supercharger to give 340bhp at 6,000rpm. To this was coupled a 5-speed Getrag gearbox, but a 4-speed GM Hydramatic box was optional. The very advanced specification included coil spring independent suspension, ventilated disc brakes all round, with magnesium alloy wheels and power steering.

The fabulous sleek coupe body was the work of Ian Callum, and the completed shells were to be painted by Rolls Royce at Crewe, whilst final assembly took place in the former XJ-220 plant in Bloxham near Banbury. The cars received a universally enthusiastic reception and sales were at a high level from the start; by 1995 some 15 cars a week were being produced.

By 1994 the svelte coupe had been joined by a convertible using the long established Aston name ‘Volante’. At the same time, Cosworth engineering were developing a new V12 engine of 6 litres capacity, with 48 valves and producing no less than 408bhp. This engine was lighter than the previous six, and by the time of its introduction in 1998 was giving 420bhp, increasing to 450bhp the next year. This mighty power unit was coupled to either a six-speed paddle-shift Tremec gearbox or a ZF 5/30 Automatic; in either case performance was now in the supercar league and by 1999 after only a year in production, sales of this car, now called the DB7 Vantage had all but eclipsed those of the six-cylinder models.

This 2003 Vantage has had just three owners from new and comes with a complete Aston Martin service record. JCT600 in Leeds looked after it first, giving the car its PDI in June 2003. They serviced it religiously until 2007, undertaking no fewer than 7 services – its last with them taking place with just 15,415 miles on the clock.

Post 2007, Broughtons Aston Martin in Cheltenham looked after the car, seeing it virtually twice a year and completing a further 7 services by which time the odometer had risen to 66,392 in September of last year.

In addition, an £1,800 bill on file from Broughtons at 71,489 miles shows extensive work to the brakes, including new pads and discs all round. The odometer now shows a total of 73,500 miles. The vendor reports that the tyres are also in good condition, with three being very nearly new. MOT’d until September 2013, the car is beautifully presented and has clearly wanted for nothing during its pampered life.

Specified from new with the ‘Touchtronic’ gear change operated through buttons on the steering wheel, it also has a heated front screen, heated seats, alloy pedals, parking sensors and a mesh grille selected from the options list. The light grey leather has worn very well, looking particularly attractive against the Pacific Blue secondary leather to the dashboard and door tops.

These quality supercars have a reputation for going on for ever, so for the price of a mid range Golf, why not treat yourself to a car that has a tremendous spec, eye watering performance, an immaculate service record and probably more street cred than you can handle! 

Please note that the personalised registration number shown in the photographs is not included and will be replaced with an age-related number prior to the sale.