According to its seller, today’s Nice Price or No Dice DB7 is one of just 26 special editions built for the U.S. market in honor of Queen Elizabeth’s Golden Jubilee. We’ll have to decide if that makes it worth the princely sum asked for its sale.
We’re often told that “it’s what’s on the inside that counts,” a warm-and-fuzzy idiom that goes all the way back to biblical times. In the Bible, God relates this to Samuel because, apparently, people were a lot uglier back then.
In contrast to this maxim, the case for the 1978 Mazda RX-7 GS we considered yesterday shows that what is on the outside is what really counts. That was made plain by the handsome and seemingly solid exterior, which masked a cabin that hadn’t kept up its side of the bargain. Broken trim, split seams, and a cracked dashboard created a perfect storm of an imperfect office for the Mazda’s ministry. All that proved a major red flag when considering the seller’s $11,799 asking price. In the end, that swayed opinions and resulted in a 79% ‘No Dice’ loss.
A royal edict
A tenuous connection lies between yesterday’s Mazda and the 2003 Aston Martin DB7 Vantage Jubilee Edition we’re looking at today. For a period of time, both Aston Martin and Mazda were owned by Ford, outright in the former’s case, and partially in the latter’s. Because of this mixing of the corporate gene pool, tiny, cash-strapped Aston Martin was able to raid the Ford family parts bin, availing itself of a number of parts from other marques, such as the tail lamps lifted from Mazda’s 323F and mirror controls from Ford’s Scorpio.
Those shared components are masked fairly well on the DB7, and in the case of this model, which is number 13 of 26 special Jubilee edition cars built to celebrate Queen Elizabeth’s 50 years on the throne, there are plenty of unique, extra-luxurious elements to distract even further.
Originally commissioned by a dealership, Stratstone Aston Martin Sales of Mayfair, the single-spec cars feature special “Jubilee Blue: metallic paint, magnolia and navy leather in the cabin, silver-faced gauges and pedals, Italian walnut trim, and unique 19-inch alloys,” among other minor changes and additions. The 26 North American market cars are joined by 24 more for the UK and Europe, making this edition appreciably rare.
Ad-Vantage
All of the Jubilee cars were fitted with a ZF-sourced five-speed automatic with steering wheel controls for some driver engagement. That’s mated to Aston Martin’s 5935cc 48-valve V12, which is not, as some aver, just two Ford Duratec V6S welded together. In the DB7, the big mill looks imposing under the sloping bonnet, and at 420 horsepower and 400 pound-feet of torque, it equals its looks in output.
According to the ad, the car sports a mere 64,615 miles on the clock, which is about the only thing the seller tells us about the car’s condition. Instead, they have chosen to copy the description of the Jubilee differences and how the original owners took possession. Weirdly, they also include photos in the ad of everything necessary for an Aston oil change, but don’t offer any explanation for that inclusion. We do get a shot of one brake caliper, which shows pads with plenty of meat left on the bone. The engine bay shot is also helpful in showing everything is complete, with no weird fluid sprays or drips.
Power to the people
The remainder of this DB7 looks to be in excellent condition. The bodywork and paint are both beautiful, although the chrome-plated mirror caps are a bit of a choice. There’s no apparent curbing on any of the gorgeous alloy wheels, and each still carries its Aston Martin-badged centers. This is a California car, so rust is not an issue.
At first glance, things seem just as nice in the cabin. There’s leather almost everywhere, but unlike in certain other contemporary high-end luxury cars—I’m looking at you, Ferrari—the cow hide on the dashboard hasn’t lost its fight with the sun. There’s also no apparent crazing in the walnut accents, nor sticky button syndrome to suffer.
Then there’s the weird bit with the blue lighting that has been added around all that wooden trim. That can’t be original, and is hopefully easily extracted from the car without damage to the wood or the leather. That’s the only obvious misstep in this car’s presentation, although the seller seems to be proud enough of it to include a nighttime shot showing it off. Hey, you do you, brave DB7 seller!
A king’s ransom?
As one would expect, this well-kept Aston Martin comes with a clean title. It also appears to have current tags, so it won’t incur any raised eyebrows at the DMV. Additionally, this is an extremely rare edition of an already fairly rare model line (about 7,000 in total). And who doesn’t love a good DB7 Vantage?
The thing is, this car’s mileage is fairly high for the model. And to be honest, the Jubilee package isn’t going to offer a different driving experience from a non-celebratory car. It’s just playing dress-up.
That’s not a bad thing, though, and looking at other cars in this year range finds pricing to be all over the map. That’s going to make this car’s $38,500 price tag a bit of a tough nut to crack.
What do you think about this special edition Aston and that $38,500 asking? Does that track considering the car’s specs and presentation? Or does that represent a royally bad decision?
You decide!
Los Angeles, California, Craigslist, or go here if the ad disappears.
Hat tip to Sy Larsa for the hookup!
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