For it’s price, you might expect today’s Nice Price or Crack Pipe DB7 to be a six, but nay, nay, it rocks a V12. Will that, and a six speed stick make this a Vantage with an advantage?
Wow, such vitriol thrown at yesterday’s 1991 Ford Ranger “Skyranger.” Yes, it did have a bit of an awkward look to its convertible top. And yes, the spoiler in back also spoiled the truck’s load-ability. But man, that was one of only 17 built and it was called SKYRANGER. That’s got to be worth something.
According to the massive 91.5% Crack Pipe vote it garnered, the vast majority of you didn’t think it was worth anywhere close to its asking price. Let us never speak of it again.
Instead, let’s talk about this 2002 Aston Martin DB7 Vantage. Yeah baby!
The DB7 debuted in 1994 as the first new Aston in decades to both carry a six and carry on the DB naming convention. That DB once stood for David Brown, a previous steward of the brand. DB = David Brown and 7 is the number that follows 6 which was the last DB to carry a number.
This car however, arose under Ford’s ownership of the small British car maker (1988-2007) and is based on a heavily modified version of Jaguar’s long-serving XJS platform. It got its looks from a discarded Jag design for an XJS replacement that never was. At the time, Ford also owned Jag and like any frugal parent, it gave the younger kids hand-me-downs.
Available in both coupe and convertible models, the DB7 originally carried a supercharged straight six that also had its origins in Jaguar’s lair. In 1999 however, the company introduced their V12 which was developed by Cosworth and had its origins in the Ford Duratec V6.
This ’02 coupe rocks that hand-built 420-bhp/400 lb-ft V12 and a Tremec T-56 six-speed manual transmission to make the most of those ponies. Oh mama!
Outside you get silver-blue paint on a body design that still says Jaguar more so than it does Aston Martin, a fact owing to its origins and Aston’s limited budgets at the time.
There’s also factory alloys and tail lights originally from a Mazda 323F, which back when this car was being developed was also a part of the Ford parts bin. A funny thing: in my neck of the woods you are far more likely today to see a DB7 cruising around than you are any kind of 323/Protege. Weird.
On to the inside and there’s further evidence that Aston Martin wisely leveraged existing bits rather than squander valuable resources on reinventing the wheel. That means HVAC controls and vents from a far lessor car as well as some other bits. Still, it’s all swaddled in leather and has the optional carbon fiber trim so this one’s a pretty swank place to conduct business, even if some of that leather shows a good bit of wear.
Mileage is 66,440 which would explain that wear. Despite the miles, the car looks to be in pretty decent shape. The ad notes that it’s loaded to the hilt with luxury options and functional features like heated mirrors and a full-sized spare too.
Both the ad and the listing on the Web site of what looks to be a consignment seller where the car is being offered go light on any other detail, like how the car performs, what maintenance has been performed, etc. That makes it a bit of a black hole, and we all know what black holes do. Also, this one most likely doesn’t come with a warranty like DeMuro’s AMV8.
Now, if you’ve looked at the Craigslist ad you’ll note that the car is listed for $29,995 there. However, click through to the dealer page and it says it’s available at a SPECIAL INTERNET PRICE of $27,995, two-grand cheaper. This being the INTERNET, and because I think all of you are SPECIAL, we’re going with $27,995.
What’s your take on this V12 Aston Martin and that $27,995 price? Is that low enough to make this someone’s ideal Vantage point? Or, do you abide by the theory that there’s nothing more expensive than a cheap exotic car?
You decide!
Long Island NY Craigslist or go here if the ad disappears.
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