The 2002 British Motor Show was the beginning of the end for the DB7, Aston Martin‘s sleek coupe and convertible born in the 1990s. But if you buy our Pick of the Day, a 2003 Aston Martin DB7 GTA posted on ClassicCars.com by a dealer in Oklahoma, you never have to say goodbye to it.
The DB7 is what you’d call a “group effort.” In the early 1990s, Aston Martin was owned by Ford, which also had Jaguar under its corporate umbrella. It combined a new platform originally intended to underpin the Jaguar XJS’s successor with bodywork by a young designer named Ian Callum, who went on to pen several cars from both of the British car companies. For the engine, Aston Martin started with Jag’s 3.2 I6, then added a supercharger to boost output. It even built the car that came to be known as the DB7 in an old JaguarSport factory, a joint effort between Jaguar and Tom Walkinshaw Racing that previously produced the 217-mph XJ220 supercar. The finished product debuted at the 1993 Geneva Motor Show and went into production in June 1994.
The more powerful DB7 V12 Vantage followed in 1999. Aston Martin dropped the supercharger, but upped the engine size to a 5.9-liter V12 built by Cosworth. As a result, output climbed to 420 horsepower and 400 lb-ft of torque.
Just three years later, Aston Martin showed the enthusiasts and media at the British Motor Show the final variants of the DB7 called the GT and GTA, which featured powertrain, exhaust, chassis, suspension, braking, and aerodynamic upgrades. The DB7 GT came with a six-speed manual gearbox and a slight bump to 435 horsepower and 410 lb-ft of torque. The “A” in the DB7 GTA meant it had a five-speed automatic, which could be shifted manually using the gear lever or the buttons on the steering wheel. One upgrade the GTA didn’t receive was extra power, so it drove off into the sunset with the same stats as the DB7 V12 Vantage.
This 2003 Aston DB7 GTA comes in a distinctive and attractive light blue. The cabin is covered with darker blue leather and accented with glossy wood trim. Parchment-colored gauge dials and metallic HVAC knobs add even more contrast. As a grand touring car meant for comfortable long-distance travel, the DB7 GTA is equipped with power everything, heated power front seats, and the power to shave down ETAs.
Speaking of lower numbers, check out the odometer: There are only 5,768 miles on this high-class cruiser. While it’s a shame that nobody has significantly enjoyed this car, that figure is also kind of fitting because Aston Martin kept production numbers low, making only 191 DB7 GTs and 112 DB7 GTAs. To get your hands on this eye-catching, barely driven piece of modern Aston Martin history, all you’ll have to say goodbye to is $69,000.
Click here to view this Pick of the Day on ClassicCars.com