ASTON MARTIN DB7 VANTAGE THE LAST ONE

2003 Aston Martin DB7 Vantage

The very last DB7 to be built

Retained by Aston Martin and displayed at the Gaydon factory

AMOC concours winner

This Aston Martin DB7 Vantage is a unique and valuable piece of marque history. The DB7 is one of the most important models that Aston Martin has ever made, and this is the very last one to be built.

Such was its significance that the car was retained by Aston Martin for 13 years and was often displayed at its Gaydon factory. Throughout that period it was dry-stored in a climate-controlled environment as part of the company’s own collection, and when the time came to sell it into private ownership, the car was fully recommissioned by Aston Martin and sold via the renowned Works department at its historic Newport Pagnell base.

Given the care with which it had been looked after during that period, it is not surprising that, after it had been recommissioned, this DB7 Vantage won Best in Show at the Aston Martin Owners Club Spring Concours at Duxford in 2016.

It also featured in Octane that year, when the magazine celebrated the DB Aston Martins by gathering everything from DB2 to DB11.

The car has been in private ownership since being sold by the factory, and is finished in Aston Racing Green with Parchment hide. Fitted with the automatic gearbox that is so well suited to the big V12 engine but with the added benefit of the the touchtronic steering wheel.

The car has still covered only just over 3000 miles. Both inside and out, it presents like a brand-new car and can only be described as being the best of the best.

Supplied with its original book pack and brochure, this Aston Martin DB7 Vantage is now being offered for sale by The Classic Motor Hub. Just over 7000 were built during a nine-year production run, and as the final DB7 to leave the factory, this well-known car is a genuine collector’s item.

MODEL HISTORY

By the beginning of the 1990s, both Jaguar and Aston Martin were under Ford ownership and each of the historic British marques were at something of a crossroads. The American giant had cancelled Jaguar’s proposed XJ-S replacement – the coupé version of which was codenamed XJ41 – in favour of updating the original car.

The XJ41 would, however, play its part in breathing a fresh lease of life into Aston Martin. Tom Walkinshaw used it as the basis for a new car designed by Ian Callum, and on an extremely limited budget this was turned into the Aston Martin DB7 – the first time for more than 20 years that the famous ‘DB’ initials had been used.

Initially offered with a Jaguar-derived, 3.2-litre, supercharged straight-six engine, the DB7 was made at the factory in Bloxham that had originally been built for production of the Jaguar XJ220. The new car won immediate plaudits for its lithe good looks and performance, but for many it really came into its own when it was developed into the Vantage model.

First shown at the 1999 Geneva Motor Show, the DB7 Vantage had been restyled by Ian Callum and was much more muscular than the original car, but most important was the fact that the straight-six engine had been replaced by a 6-litre, all-aluminium, double-overhead-camshaft-per-bank V12. With 420bhp on tap – an 80bhp increase over the six-cylinder version – the sonorous new powerplant transformed the DB7 into a searingly fast Grand Tourer that could top 180mph. It helped to position the car well above its Jaguar XK8 stablemate and turned it into a genuine rival for the likes of Ferrari.

DB7 production lasted until 2003, when it was replaced by the DB9, which marked the beginning of a new era by being the first Aston Martin to be built at Gaydon. It was an era made possible only thanks to the success of the DB7