Aston Martin DB7

Due to the development of the Jaguar XJ220, Ford had not been very keen on development of new Aston Martin models due to high development costs and the wake of the 1990s economic downturn. Aston Martin CEO at the time, Walter Hayes approached Walkinshaw as he had seen the potential in Walkinshaw's proposition to succeed. Development started with a project name of XX. Ian Callum was again tasked to redesign the car so it would look like an Aston Martin. Due to a limited financial backing at the time, the final product shared many components from other marques owned by Ford. The tail lights came from the Mazda 323 F, the Chrome door handles came from the Mazda 323 Estate, the turn signals came from the Mazda MX-5 and the interior door mirror switches came from the Ford Scorpio. The only foreign component would be the wing mirrors which were shared with the Citroën CX. The whole project cost US$30 million.

These vehicles were fitted with the Tibbe disc tumbler lock barrel design as used on Ford vehicles around the time of this vehicle's manufacture. The difference between Ford locks and the ones fitted to the DB7 is the fact the DB7 utilises 8 discs rather than 6 hence why the key blade and the lock barrel is longer. Jaguar vehicles also used the 8 disc Tibbe locks.

An alternate DB7 proposal was considered in 1991 to develop a 6-cylinder platform from the Escort RS Cosworth's 4x4 system.^[1]

On 1 January 1993, Jac Nasser was appointed the new chairman of Ford Europe. He presented the finished car, which had yet to be named, to the general public at the 1993 Geneva Motor Show. Due to the positive and overwhelming reception, the car was put into production as the Aston Martin DB7.^[2][3]

The positive response also prompted Jaguar to use the platform for the XJS' successor. The car was redesigned by Geoff Lawson and was launched in the market as the Jaguar XK which uses an evolution of the XJS platform (called the X100 by Jaguar) and the cars share a family resemblance, although the DB7 was more expensive than the XK.^[2]

The DB7 was engineered in Kidlington, Oxfordshire, by TWR on behalf of Aston Martin. The engines continued to be built in Kidlington during the production run of the vehicle.

With the production of the Virage (soon rechristened "V8" following Vantage styling revisions) continuing at Newport Pagnell, a new factory was acquired at Bloxham, Oxfordshire that had previously been used to manufacture the XJ220, where every DB7 would be built throughout its production run. The DB7 and its variants were the only Aston Martin automobiles produced in Bloxham and the only ones with a steel unit construction inherited from Jaguar (Aston Martin had traditionally used aluminium for construction of the bodies of their cars, and models introduced after the DB7 use aluminium for the chassis as well as for many major body parts).

The convertible Volante version was unveiled at the North American International Auto Show held in Detroit in 1996.^[4] Both versions initially had a supercharged straight-six engine that has a power output of 340 PS (250 kW; 335 hp) and 361 lb⋅ft (489 N⋅m) of torque. In the United States, the Coupé was sold for US$140,000, and the Volante for US$150,000. Works Service provided a special Driving Dynamics package, which greatly enhanced performance and handling for drivers who wanted more than what the standard configuration offered. The straight-6 models were phased out in mid-1999 due to lack of market interest.