1997 Aston Martin DB7

Beautiful DB7 Clean History and Extremely Well Cared For and Maintained Example of Automotive Royalty when it comes to Style and Performance The Aston Martin Family Tree Proudly Portrays the DB7 This particular DB is Awesome! Great Color Combo not often seen and very easy on the eyes. The Leather is in exceptional almost like new condition as are the Top, Wheels, Engine Bay, Undercarriage and etc... 1997 Aston Martin DB7 review: Our expert's take The verdict: Versus the competiton: The Aston Martin DB7 may be the world’s best-kept secret. One reason is that Aston Martin is a well-kept secret. Seems the only timethe automaker’s name comes up is when a new James Bond movie is released andpeople wonder whether 007 is going to be driving one. Until the folks from the British automaker called to say “howdy,” we hadforgotten Aston Martin existed. Probably because it didn’t offer cars here inthe 1994, ’95 or ’96 model years, when its V-8 couldn’t meet federal emissionsstandards and it couldn’t afford to add a passenger-side air bag to thehandful of cars it sold here. Ford Motor Co., which rode to the rescue in 1990 to save Jaguar, used thesame steed to keep Aston Martin from going belly up when it acquired 75percent of the firm in 1987 and the rest of it in 1993. Thanks to Ford, Aston Martin is back for the 1997 model year with one car,the DB7, in two versions, coupe (coo-PAY) and convertible, at two prices,$125,000 and $135,000. If you haven’t seen a ’97 DB7, there’s good reason. The automaker expectsto sell only 200 in the U.S. this year. It has sold 185, so the target iseasily within reach, but 200 of any vehicle won’t stand out in any crowd. We tested the ’97 DB7 coupe and found it to be very much like any otherexotic vehicle–an experience to savor in those moments you are cuddled (somemay call it squeezed) in the leather bucket seats. However, if you suffer any allergic reaction to leather, the DB7 is not foryou. Chances are anything you sit on or touch in this coupe is finished inleather trim. The roof liner, however, is in a material called Alcantara, which lookslike a cross between suede and leather but is more expensive. The advantage isthat you can wash cigarette and cigar smoke out of it, said Andy Watt, vicepresident and general manager of Aston Martin Lagonda of North America, theNew Jersey-based distributor of the British luxury sports model. The DB7 (DB for David Brown, who bought Aston Martin and Lagonda in 1947and saved the pair of companies that alternated between tottering on the brinkof bankruptcy and jumping head-first from the ledge) now meets federalemissions standards with its new 6-cylinder engine. The 3.2-liter, 335-horsepower supercharged 6 can be teamed with a 4-speedautomatic or a 5-speed manual for the same price. In the Midwest and mostcongested cities, 85 percent of buyers opt for the automatic. Smooth, quiet engine. But in being called upon to move almost 4,000 poundsfrom the stoplight or into the passing lane, don’t expect to be thrown backinto your bucket–at least not before the supercharger goes to work. And in propelling 4,000 pounds, don’t be alarmed when you look at thewindow sticker and see a 14-mile-per-gallon city/18-m.p.g. highway rating anda $2,200 gas-guzzler tax. The fuel gauge doesn’t hesitate when moving from theline, into the passing lane or any time the radials are rolling. “High-performance cars are thirsty because high-performance cars are notlight because high-performance cars are not flimsy,” Watt said in justifyingthe mileage. “We could take 500 pounds of padding and insulation out of theinterior, but we won’t.” In addition to the guzzler tax, you face the federal luxury tax (8.5percent of the amount over $35,000), which is roughly $9,000. The two taxesalone total more than $11,000–enough to buy a used Chevrolet Cavalier. You feel just about every one of those 4,000 pounds in the wheel, butthanks to the suspension system you don’t suffer lots of lean and/o