1995 Aston Martin DB7 - Driving Impression - European Car

Hinting at the possible birth of an intriguing rivalry, a senior Aston Martin insider describes the new DB7 coupe as "quick as a Ferrari, but easier to drive." His fellow directors, all recently installed by parent-company Ford, openly admit their desire to develop Aston Martin Lagonda Ltd. into the British equivalent of the Maranello marque: a maker of coveted sports and GT cars that are seductively stylish, exhilaratingly fast, irresistible to 2000 or more buyers per year, and-this will be a novelty for AML-make money. For a company that sold only 135 cars worldwide last year, and which lost a fistful of dollars on each, we're talking a recovery of biblical proportion.

The late Sir David Brown, the "DB" behind those first Aston coupes of the '50s and '60s (among the finest cars of their time) and owner of the firm from 1947-72, enjoyed telling a personal anecdote: When a friend once asked if he could buy an Aston "at cost," Brown replied along the lines of, "Why, of course. That shouldn't be any more than a thousand pounds or so above sticker." Sir David, who was a multimillionaire when he bought the then-separate Aston Martin and Lagonda companies, eventually was obliged by his bankers to sell them. The marques have been funded by all manner of entrepreneurs, differing in their resources, but sharing a common weakness: a passion for cars, rather than a sound business sense, that kept AML alive.

Ford Motor Company, which bought the automaker in 1987, however, is no sugar daddy: If the DB7 and the Lagonda Vignale V-12 luxury sedan (which will follow in a couple of years) don't push sales to at least 1200 units or more annually, the men in gray suits will abandon Aston. That fact makes the DB7 potentially the most important model in the com-pany's 80-year history.

Against that stark reality, there are two strong reasons for optimism.

First, Aston Martin is one of the automotive industry's most romantic nameplates-evocative of traditional English craftsmanship and aristocratic indulgence, of Carroll Shelby and Stirling Moss balancing high-speed four-wheel-drifts at Goodwood circuit, of heroic and victorious battle against Jaguar and Ferrari at Le Mans, of Sean Connery as a spy licensed to kill careening about and ejecting unwanted front-seat passengers. With Ford of Europe's renowned marketing expertise, and with some of its experts now transplanted at Aston, the company may at last effectively capitalize on this glamorous heritage.

Second? A two-day dash through the southern counties of England and a few high-speed laps of (How did you guess?) Goodwood leave us no doubt: The DB7 is the most capable Aston Martin in decades, and probably the best ever.

Unlike the giant $240,000 Virage, Volante, and Vantage models, which for the moment remain in production, the $120,000 DB7 doesn't presume its buyers will tolerate trailing-edge technologies or exorbitantly expensive production methods in the name of hand-built exclusivity. The anticipated 700 DB7 buyers each year (one third of them American) are expected to demand everyday reliability and driveability that matches the industry's highest standards. As the engineer who previously oversaw development of Ford's Contour/Mondeo world car, AML Chief Executive John Oldfield has a far better idea of what those standards are and how to attain them than any of his predecessors.