Vehicle Overview Aston Martin used to be the brand James Bond drove, but that was before BMW made a more lucrative offer to the movie producers. Now, this exclusive British manufacturer is part of Fords luxury stable that includes Jaguar, Volvo, Lincoln and Land Rover.
Aston Martin builds less than 700 cars per year for sale worldwide and has built just 15,000 in its 87-year history.
The DB7 comes two ways. The base coupe and convertible use a supercharged six-cylinder engine, but the company says 95 percent of this years production will be DB7 Vantage models that come with a V-12 engine developed jointly with parent Ford.
Exterior All DB7 models share the same two-door styling that features clean, curvaceous lines, a narrow grille with horizontal bars and integrated headlamps and fog lights. Convertible models are called Volante.
Aston Martin says customers may order their DB7 in any body color.
Interior The DB7 is a 2+2, which means a pair of front buckets in front and a small, two-place rear seat designed for occasional use. The car can be ordered without a rear seat to expand cargo room and make room for an optional pet carrier.
Connolly leather upholstery the same kind used in the House of Lords and wood veneer trim are standard, but customers can specify other materials and choose the colors.
Starting the engine requires turning the ignition to the On position and then pushing a red dashboard button.
Under the Hood The supercharged six-cylinder in the base DB7 models is a 335-horsepower 4.0-liter engine based on a Jaguar design. The Vantage models use a 6.0-liter V-12 with 420 hp. Top speed is 185 miles per hour with the six-speed manual transmission in the Vantage and 165 mph with the optional five-speed automatic, which adds $10,000 to the Vantages $140,000 base price.
