Great Aston

There's nothing rational about an automobile that takes months to build, costs in excess of $135,000 and holds only two people. Which is why Aston Martin Lagonda Ltd. sells its cars worldwide as fast as they can be hand-crafted in England. That handsome sum buys a distinguished racing heritage, superb craftsmanship and pedigree. Stirling Moss and Jimmy Clark raced Aston Martins. James Bond drove one. So do the current Prince of Wales and Sweden's Prince Bertil. Jordan's King Hussein is an enthusiastic owner. Welcome to the fast fast lane. The marque's history extends back 83 years to a simpler time when Lionel Martin and Robert Bamford co-owned a London garage and sold Singer cars. When the two decided to build a sports car, they named it after the hill where Martin and Bamford had competed in a Singer Special. Although Aston Martin's reputation grew over the next two decades, the small firm didn't sell many cars. It was bought in 1947 by a British engineer named David Brown, who also acquired Lagonda, another low-volume British sports car manufacturer with a reputation for clever technology. Brown's vision for Aston Martin guided the company through an era of producing successful, technically advanced competition cars. (continued on page 150) Great Aston(continued from page 111) By 1959, a racing DBI had won the prestigious 24 hours of Le Mans. Remarkably, tiny Aston Martin was competing against and beating larger and better-financed firms such as Jaguar and Ferrari. In 1958, the DB4 coupe garnered rave reviews for its all-aluminum, twin-cam six engine. But you still had to be a sports car enthusiast to appreciate Astons--until 1964 and a movie titled Goldfinger. When Secret Service armorer "Q" presented James Bond with a gad-getized silver DB5, we all knew it was just a matter of reels before Bond would use the car's razor-edged hubs, front-mounted machine guns, smoke-screen apparatus and ejector seat to particularly good advantage.

Although Bond went on to drive a Bentley, a Toyota 2000GT convertible, a Triumph Stag, a Mustang, a Lotus Esprit SI, a Citroën 2CV, a decapitated Renault 11 and a Mercedes-Benz, nobody ever forgot his DB5. Pierce Brosnan, the latest 007, drives a new BMW Z3 roadster in Goldeneye, but the venerable DB5 makes a cameo appearance.

Although the Bond films helped popularize Aston Martins, the expensive, blindingly fast cars did not achieve volume sales. Brown sold his interest in the company in 1972, and thereafter, a small succession of new owners vied for control. Along the way, Aston flirted with a radical Lagonda sedan design and a limited-production Italian-built, Zagato-bodied V8 Vantage model. Overseas volumes were steady but small, and U.S. sales plummeted to just 85 units in 1985. That year, the Volante convertible retailed here for $125,000. Stiff U.S. safety and emissions regulations made future prospects dim; Aston's test expenses for just a handful of cars were prohibitive. But just as in the Bond movies, when all hope seemed lost, a rescuer appeared-- here in the form of the Ford Motor Co., which purchased Aston in 1987.

At first it seemed a strange move. What did Ford, a giant that produces millions of cars annually, want with a tiny manufacturer in sleepy Newport Pagnell? Soon after, Ford also purchased Jaguar, and its plan was evident. Lacking prestige with Lincoln, unable to buy Ferrari (it had tried in the Sixties) and unwilling to build a new marque from scratch--as Toyota and Nissan had done with Lexus and Infiniti--cash-rich Ford acquired these two respected British names. Through major cash infusions it would revitalize and modernize production and attempt to compete with BMW, Mercedes-Benz and even Ferrari.

That is the provenance of the DB7-- the first Ford-underwritten Aston Martin project. Judging from the car's enthusiastic worldwide reception, the new partnership will work well. The DB7's shape is contemporary yet retains features that reflect past Aston styling.

Aston Martin plans to build 600 DB7s annually. To save weight and construction time, light but strong composite hoods, doors and deck lids will be mated to a steel body. The same firm that paints Rolls-Royces sprays each DB7 in one of 19 colors. Others are done to order.

Under its tautly stretched monocoque skin, the DB7's uniqueness disappears. Remember, Ford owns Jaguar, and it is expensive to develop special engines and components for small production runs. Ergo, some of the DB7's platform emanates from the former Jaguar XJS.

The Volante's alloy engine--a supercharged, twin-cam, 3.2-liter, in-line six-- develops 335 horsepower at 5750 rpm. Based on a Jaguar racing-engine block, a similar motor powers Jaguar's new high-performance XJ-R sedan, but there's considerably less weight to propel with the Volante. Maintaining an Aston tradition, each engine is hand-assembled and tested. DB7 buyers can choose from a Getrag five-speed manual or a four-speed electronic automatic transmission supplied by--would you believe?--General Motors.

On the road, the DB7's fuel-injected six is relatively quiet, but when the revs climb, a low metallic whine from the Eaton supercharger tells you that good things are happening. There is plenty of low-end power, so you can pull away smartly in almost any gear with no drive-line protest. In England, we tested the DB7 on the Goodwood racetrack. At 120 miles per hour on sweeping curves, the Aston proved to be basically neutral with a slight tendency to understeer--exactly the way you'd want a big sports coupe to handle. The speed-sensitive rack-and-pinion steering plus a double-wishbone suspension make the DB7 predictable and surefooted. With immense antilock disc brakes, it stops as well as it goes.

The interiors of the DB7 coupe and the Volante convertible are reminiscent of a British men's club, with Connolly leather bucket seats, burl walnut trim and hand-fitted, leather-trimmed wool carpets. A six-speaker Alpine AM-FM stereo CD-cassette system is standard.

The Volante's cloth top folds into a tall stack that recalls British coaches of the prewar years. It's the one archaic styling touch on an otherwise modern sprinter, but it was designed that way to preserve room in the car's trunk. Dual air bags, side-impact door beams, remote-control locking and an onboard diagnostic system round out the car's amenities.

Aston Martin owners have a saying: "Ferrari builds mistresses; Aston Martin makes wives." Mindful of this, the company plans to increase its current ten U.S. dealers to 20. It is expected that three fourths of the 200 projected sales here will be of the Volante convertible. "We don't build for stock ' says Andy Watt, Aston Martin's U.S. vice president and general manager. "All our cars are custom-ordered by people who buy what's best in their view, as opposed to what's fashionable. They've decided what their personal style is, and they don't succumb to peer pressure." Not a bad way to live, if you have the money.

Where & How to Buy on Page 160.

The DB-7's shape is contemporary yet retains features that reflect past Aston styling.