British Beauty: 2000 Aston Martin DB7 V12 Vantage Volante – NOW $24,850

January 26, 2023 Update – The seller replaced their expiring Craigslist ad with a fresh listing.  In it, the description, pictures, and asking price all remain the same.

December 28, 2022 Update – After not replacing their expired Craigslist ad for several months, the seller just posted a new listing.  In it, the pictures and descriptions remain the same. However, the price has been reduced slightly from the original ask of $25,000 to $24,850.

October 6, 2022, Update – We just confirmed the listing for this “Classifind” expired, so with no replacement found, we’re assuming this ride is “Sold?” until we come across a replacement listing.

“Volante” in Aston Martin parlance refers to the luxury brand’s convertible models.  Combine that with the magical “DB7” brand made famous by James Bond and a silky smooth V12. At the turn of the century, you have the pinnacle of bespoke luxury in this 2000 Aston Martin DB7 V12 Vantage Volante, originally listed in August 2022 in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. The seller reports this example as a one-owner, Volante, originally from California.

Last offered for $24,850 (the original ask in August 2022 was $25,000), Classic.com, the analytics and search engine for the collector car market, confirms the ask is below the one-year rolling average of this guide’s summary for Aston Martin DB7 Vantage Volantes produced between 1999 and 2003.  By clicking on the green dots in the graph below, you can navigate to each comparable car sold as a way to help you evaluate the price of the truck featured here:

British luxury car maker Aston Martin produced the DB7 grand tourer from September 1994 to December 2004. The car was available either as a coupé or a convertible. Designers Iam Callum and Keith Helfet combined their talents to develop the concept. The six-cylinder DB7 (based on the Jaguar AJ6 engine) was positioned as an “entry-level” model below the hand-built V8 Virage introduced a few years earlier. This model was the highest produced Aston Martin automobile ever, with more than 7,000 built before it was replaced by the DB9 in 2004.

The DB7, known internally as the XX project, was made mostly with resources from Jaguar Cars and had the financial backing of the Ford Motor Company, owner of Aston Martin from 1988 to 2007. The DB7’s platform is an evolution of the Jaguar XJS platform, though with many changes.

The DB7 began life as a successor to the Jaguar XJS, envisioned by Tom Walkinshaw of TWR. Walkinshaw had been impressed by the XJS’ potential after driving it in the European Touring Car Championship in the late 1970s and early 1980s and wanted to re-body the car so it would have more modern styling. He initially wanted to engage Peter Stevens to design such a car, but he refused due to his ongoing projects at the time. Walkinshaw then engaged Ian Callum, who was new in the car design work at the time, to design the car.

Jaguar had been struggling to replace the XJS due to its weak financial position. A project codenamed the XJ41/42 (41 for the coupé, 42 for the convertible) was already in the development stage in the company, mooted to be called the F-Type when completed, and was designed by Keith Helfet. When American automobile manufacturer Ford acquired both Jaguar and Aston Martin, the new management cancelled the XJ41/42 project in 1990 because of the car’s heavier weight than the XJS, the project’s high budget and also the employee overtime spent on the car. Seeing the potential of the abandoned project, Walkinshaw based his concept on the XJ41 and tasked Ian Callum to design his envisioned body around the XJ41. He presented the completed car to Jaguar’s management who rejected it.

Due to the development of the Jaguar XJ220, Ford had not been very keen on the 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 to look like an Aston Martin. Due to 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.

The Men & Motors YouTube Channel features this vintage road test by a very young-looking Richard Hammond:

This 2000 Aston Martin DB7 Vantage Volante is a stunning example offered for pennies on the dollar of its original $150,000 asking price.  Given the complexity of these cars, we highly recommend obtaining a proper and thorough pre-purchase inspection before securing the deal.

Here’s the seller’s description:

Show or go: What would you do with this 2000 Aston Martin DB7 Vantage Volante?  Please comment below and let us know!