Aston Martin DB7 Vantage

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In September 1987 the Ford Motor Company took a majority shareholding in Aston Martin, adding the company to its 'Premier Group' portfolio which included Jaguar, Land Rover, Lincoln and Volvo.

The firm's 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 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 developed the in-line six-cylinder 24-valve 3,230cc engine with an Eaton supercharger to give 340bhp at 6,000rpm. This was coupled to a 5-speed Getrag gearbox, with a 4-speed GM Hydramatic auto as an option. The fabulous coupe body was the work of Ian Callum, and the completed bodyshells were painted by Rolls Royce at Crewe, the final assembly taking place in the former XJ-220 plant in Bloxham.

The cars received a universally enthusiastic reception and sales were brisk from the start; by 1995 some 15 cars a week were being produced. In 1994 the svelte coupe was 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. 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, the DB7 Vantage, had eclipsed the six-cylinder model which was quietly dropped from the range. By the time it was replaced by the DB9 in 2003, around 7,000 DB7s had been sold, of which 1,477 were V12s, making it by far the most successful Aston Martin yet made.

This well presented three owner V12 was first registered in 2002 and comes with a comprehensive service history. Now showing 73,000 miles on the clock, its last service was in 2013 at 71,856 miles when a new coil pack was fitted. In 2007 and 2008 it was looked after by Aston Martin themselves in Newport Pagnell, with further invoices from Broughtons of Cheltenham showing the maintenance that has been carried out over the ensuing years. It is MOTd until February 2016.

Complete with tool kit and two sets of keys, it has six old MOTs on file and is being offered with the attractive private number plate OAZ 85. Your neighbours will be jealous.