Aston Martin DB7 GT – Old Dog, New Tricks? | Top Gear Classic

0:00 This is the ultimate underground car.

0:03 It's called the Jaguar XKRR.

0:06 It's lowered.

0:06 It's got racing seats.

0:07 Racing seat belts.

0:08 There's somewhere in there to put your helmet.

0:10 It's got enormous wheels.

0:12 It's got exhausts by Matrix Churchill.

0:14 It's a concept.

0:16 But unlike the Arupe that we saw at the start of the show,

0:19 this one actually works.

0:28 Unlike any XK that's gone before,

0:30 this one has a manual gearbox and you can do 58 mph in first.

0:38 They've also changed the rear suspension, which was always an XK Achilles heel.

0:44 In fact, they've changed the entire rear end and fitted a limited slit dip,

0:51 which means you can do this.

0:57 If you try to do this in a normal XK,

1:00 woohoo, you'd spin, but this just grips and goes.

1:05 It's a cat.

1:08 Don Ferrell.

1:11 I love this car, but sadly they can't put

1:13 it into production because Jaguar has a sister company,

1:17 Aston Martin, and this would jump up and down

1:20 all over Aston's new car, the DB7 GT.

1:28 This shape has been with us for 10 years now,

1:31 but neither time nor Aston's misguided attempts to improve it

1:35 with new wheels and flared sills have managed to ruin it.

1:43 For the GT, they've really gone mad.

1:45 There's a new boot lid with a sort of spoiler on the end of it.

1:48 There are lumps on the bonnet with louvers and there's a new radiator grill.

1:52 Now, all these things are terrible, but look at it this way.

1:56 When Shan Connory grew a beard, my wife still fancied him.

2:04 Inside, you still get a handmade feel.

2:07 When I close the center console lid, for instance,

2:10 the ashtray opens and this window doesn't close properly.

2:14 So, once you're going more than, say, 50 mph,

2:17 you get a little squeak of wind noise.

2:20 Mind you, that's not the most annoying sound that the Aston makes.

2:26 and stop this bong by closing the door,

2:28 but then when you turn the ignition on, you get a new bong.

2:32 It's presumably for the American market.

2:34 Remind them that they're in a car.

2:43 Actually, you couldn't sell this to an American.

2:45 You wouldn't fit.

2:46 I mean, I don't.

2:47 There's nowhere for my left leg.

2:49 There's nowhere for my head.

2:52 You have to remember that underneath everything, this is basically a Jaguar XJS.

2:56 It's a 30-year-old design.

2:59 And how much are they charging for all this?

3:02 £14,000.

3:08 It's time, therefore, to tuck the DB7 up in bed with a nice

3:12 mug of cocoa and let Jaguar make that brilliant XKR instead.

3:22 Except for one tiny detail.

3:27 This GT version is not just a cynical marketing exercise.

3:32 It's not just a beard to cover up the wrinkles.

3:35 What it is is amazing.

3:57 It may be cramped, old, and expensive, but it is epic fun.

4:05 The old DB7 was never that much cop to drive,

4:08 but in this, they've been through it with a fine tooth comb,

4:11 changing just about everything.

4:14 rear wishbones, damper settings.

4:16 They've stiffened up the bushes at the front.

4:18 And I cannot tell you,

4:20 I cannot stress enough just how much of an improvement it is.

4:27 It's not just better than the old DB7.

4:31 I don't know of any other car which offers such an intoxicating blend of grip,

4:37 handling, and surprisingly ride comfort.

4:40 Oh, and there's something else in the mix as well.

4:44 Power.

4:54 God, it's fast.

4:58 Sounds good, too.

5:00 Listen to this.

5:11 The 6 L V12 is more powerful than you get in a normal DB7.

5:15 And then there's its party piece.

5:19 Let me show you something.

5:23 I'm going to stop, put it into fourth gear, and off we go.

5:28 Sets off fine in fourth.

5:30 Foot hard down.

5:32 And we're now going 40 mph, 50 mph, 60 mph, 70, 80.

5:39 Really into its stride now.

5:41 90, 100.

5:42 Really gathering pace.

5:43 Still in fourth.

5:44 I haven't changed.

5:46 120.

5:47 130 mph.

5:49 135.

5:50 We're on the rev limiter.

5:51 That's naugh to 135 in one gear.

6:01 For the last few years, the DB7's been an aging rocker,

6:05 still trying to cut it in a cold play

6:07 MP3 world of Porsche 911s and Foo Fighter Ferraris.

6:15 But now, thanks to a cocktail of Botox and Viagra,

6:19 it's up there with the best of them.

6:26 What a car.

6:27 I know.

6:28 The thing is, I really don't like all

6:30 these sort of bumps and louvers they put on it.

6:32 So, I had a wizard we like Boris Johnson has.

6:36 Anyway, what you should do, buy a used DB7 V12.

6:40 Okay?

6:40 Take it to Aston Martin.

6:42 And I've checked they can do this.

6:43 They will put the GT suspension stuff on it and then you can have one of these.

6:47 They'll even do the engine as well if you want.

6:48 I mean, that's brilliant.

6:50 Yeah.

6:50 So, how much does that cost then, Jerry?

6:51 Well, used DB7s are around about, I don't know, 60, get a good one,

6:54 and then uh 10 to 12,000 for the suspension and another 10 though,

6:58 you don't really need it for the engine.

7:00 That's brilliant.

7:01 Is that your idea of a used car tip?

7:03 So, what you've done is take a really expensive car and turn it into Well,

7:07 it's still a really expensive car.

7:08 It's 80 grand.

7:10 It's all part of the Top Gear service as of course is our lap.

7:14 So, it's time to pump up the STG.

7:16 See how fast he can make it go round.

7:19 So, away he goes.

7:21 Oh, lots of wheel spin there.

7:22 And up to the first corner.

7:24 6 L V12 working hard.

7:32 Stiggy's in a mellow mood I think today.

7:34 Now to Chicago.

7:39 tidy.

7:43 Last week he had the Alpena Z8.

7:45 It was rubbish on the road.

7:46 Set a blistering time round our track.

7:48 The Aston probably going to be the other way around.

7:50 Look at it in the hammerhead.

7:51 It's that soft suspension.

7:52 Makes it so good on the road.

7:54 That is really mad driving from the stick.

7:57 Not sure it's going to be fast here.

7:58 That's what worries me.

8:01 That is very fast through the follow through down to the penultimate bend.

8:07 Sliding all over the place.

8:09 Oh, stick.

8:10 Come on.

8:11 Up to Gamble.

8:12 Lurching in several different directions here.

8:15 And across the line in 1 minute 30.4 seconds.

8:20 That That's actually very quick.

8:22 And you know what?

8:23 Aston Martin reckoned it would have gone even quicker,

8:26 but it had a full tank of fuel and that slowed it up a bit.

8:28 But that puts it there.

8:28 It's faster than an Audi S4, just behind the AS1 and behind the Alpena.

8:32 But I don't care because as road cars go,

8:34 that's one of the best I've driven in years now.

8:38 Who'd like to see the XKR do a lap?

8:44 So would we.

8:45 Trouble is, since I drove it, it's been back to Jaguar,

8:48 and for reasons I don't fully understand,

8:49 they've been fiddling with the rear suspension.

8:51 So when we rang them up and said,

8:52 "Can we have it back for the Stig to do a lap?" They said, "Well, yes,

8:56 but it's handling at the moment like a greasy weasel." And they said

9:00 they didn't think the Stig would want to drive it in that state.

9:04 And they probably have a point.

9:06 He wouldn't have done if we'd have told him.

9:10 Here he comes now down the first corner getting himself all.

9:15 Oh, look at already.

9:20 Come on, stay.

9:21 Try to stay with it.

9:26 And that's a full 360 from the stake.

9:30 Cross the line backwards.