Highlights

・Rare manual six cylinder car

・Low mileage example

・Rare Cleveland red paint colour
・£2,000 of spare parts included in the sale

The Background

Classic lines, beautiful styling, flawless performance, few other names come to mind more so than Aston Martin. The DB7 is no exception to this, a design penned by legendary car designer Ian Callum, 1994 saw the introduction of Aston Martin’s new GT car, hailed by the motoring press as one of the most beautiful cars in the world, arguably a statement that still rings true to this day.

Those discerning customers who wanted even more from their DB7s had the option to have the “driving dynamics” package to their cars, upgrading the running gear and bodywork of the vehicle at an extra cost of £24,000.

The History

The current owner of the vehicle bought the car at auction, proceeding to complete a series of jobs to refresh the car mechanically after having the vehicle inspected by a local Aston Martin specialist.

MOT paperwork suggests very limited mileage over the last 10 years, with further investigation leading to the conclusion that the car was ordered by its first owner in 1997, then being delivered to the customer in 1998, choosing to have driving and visual dynamics packages fitted from new by Aston Martin Works Newport Pagnell, where it appears to have been maintained for a considerable amount of its life.

The Paperwork

This car comes with an extensive folder of paperwork, with bills dating back 15 years, including more than £10,000 in servicing records from Aston Martin Works who looked after the car until 2012, when the owner at the time relocated.

Upon purchase of the vehicle, the current owner had it inspected by Aston Martin specialists Pugsley and Lewis who provided a full rundown of works needed, with the owner then proceeding to work through all of these items, sourcing all of the parts from Chiltern Aston, a leading authority on these cars. The list of jobs performed is as follows.

Replacement of damaged front splitter
Balancing of alloy wheels
New front brake calipers, pads and brake fluids
Examination of rear brakes and adjustment of parking brake
New oil and original Aston Martin filter
Replacement air filter and cleaning of air box
Examination of coolant system and coolant
Examination of Supercharger and topping up of oil
Rear diff service and oil change
Check of clutch and check of engine and timing belts (all within tolerance with life left in them)
New seat tilt knobs
Front electric windows serviced with the “door ajar switch” ECU being replaced

The vendor will also kindly include approximately £2,000 worth of spare parts which will further solidify the long term reliability and enjoyment of the vehicle for many years to come.

The Interior

Glancing into the cabin, we see iconic British craftsmanship at its best, in the form of a beautiful parchment hide and alcantara interior coated with outstanding red wilton carpets and walnut dash pieces and gearstick. The leather upholstery is in excellent condition, with no rips, no shrinkage and next to no wear. Above the colour matched headliner is in good condition, but not immaculate, with some visible wear and creasing.

The seat controls all work as does the period correct Alpine six disc CD player. The car also benefits from cruise control which functions correctly. In the boot we find the original owners manual and tool kit, however this does lack some of the original tools.

The Exterior

The car benefits from being specced in a striking “Cleveland Red” paint, an extremely rare colour on these DB7s, with the Aston Martin Heritage Trust suggesting that this car, in this specification, along with being a manual is a 1 of 1 (this is still in the process of being confirmed by heritage).

This example, courtesy of the driving dynamics package, sports Astons GT styling kit, consisting of a bolder front and rear valance, more prominent side skirts and spoiler, helping emphasise its difference over the regular DB7.

Unfortunately the gorgeous red on this example is slightly marred, with the bodywork having seen better days, blistering and imperfections in the paintwork are prominent on the front wings and tailgate. There is also rust bubbling in some areas around the car, however the car is extremely solid, having passed its MOT with no advisories.

The dynamics package that has been put on this car means it sits on uprated 18” magnesium alloys wheels. These could do with a refurbishment as they do show some marking, however they have all been checked to be true and have also been balanced.

The Mechanics

Under the bonnet we find Aston’s incredibly smooth, supercharged 3.2 inline 6 engine. A rarer option to find on these cars, as opposed to the more commonly equipped v12, it is suggested that these i6 cars are far more suited to being grand tourers than their 12 cylinder counterparts largely due to the aforementioned smoothness.

Driving the car leaves no doubts about its capability, with the engine note being amplified through a sports exhaust system fitted as part of the driving dynamics package. Pair this with a rare factory manual gearbox, and we find a car that is incredibly rewarding to drive both around town and on faster A and B roads. With plenty of power coming from the engine, balanced nicely alongside the refinement and comfort one would expect of a GT car.

Unfortunately there is a coolant light illuminated when driving, this was diagnosed at Chiltern Aston and suggested to be a coolant level transmitter sensor unit, which has been replaced by the owner, however the light itself is still on.

The engine bay and engine itself are incredibly clean, with the same going for the underside of the car including the rear trailing arms which can be a weak point on these cars.

The Appeal

A sure future classic, the gorgeous lines, exquisite interior and thumping supercharged engine are a winning combination.

This is an incredibly rare vehicle, being of such low mileage, in such a beautiful colour and with the added bonus of the Aston Martin works dynamics additions this is an excellent opportunity to acquire a beautiful and rewarding enthusiast car that has clearly been cherished throughout its ownership.

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