As the Aston Martin DB7 completes 25 years, its similarities to the Jaguar XJS couldn't be unseen. The Jaguar XJS highly influenced the Aston Martin DB7. The similarities in design and specifications between both cars are uncanny. There is a strong resemblance between both vehicles. Surprisingly, both brands were owned by Ford at the time. So any common features in both cars are not much of a stretch. Further, the original design for the XJS was outsourced to Tom Walkinshaw Racing, who tasked designer Ian Callum with the project.

The striking similarities between Aston Martin DB7 and Jaguar XJS lead one to believe that Jaguar XJS highly influenced the design of the DB7. There are undeniable commonalities between both cars. Although the DB7 was significantly remodeled to fit the Aston Martin standards, ample evidence points to its shared similarities with the XJS.

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The Similarities In Overall Specifications

A Black Aston Martin DB7 On The Road
Via En.Aston-Martin-Club.com

Both vehicles have a six-cylinder engine, an MPI fuel system, petrol as fuel, and longitudinal engine alignment. Furthermore, the two cars shared a 91.0 mm bore and Rear-Wheel-Drive drivetrain features. Each car had two doors and a fuel tank capacity of 23.5 gallons. There are similarities in the suspensions used in both cars as well. The two automobiles use similar independent double-wishbones coil springs anti-roll bar front suspensions. Further, both vehicles even share a 101.97-inch wheelbase with just minor differences in dimensions.

Jaguar Redesigned The XK Project

The Front Of A Silver Aston Martin DB7
Via RoadAndTrack.com

Jaguar was busy working on its new sports car named the XK at the time. Jaguar had been working with this idea since 1982, but the delays forced them to revise the design to remain competitive heavily. Once Ford bought Jaguar in 1989, the company decided that it should focus on more pressing matters than the over-budget prototype sports car. The design was outsourced to Tom Walkinshaw Racing, who tasked designer Ian Callum with redesigning the XK project to fit a thoroughly revised Jaguar XJS platform.

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The Rejected Walkinshaw Design That Became The DB7

An Aston Martin DB7 And A Jaguar XK
Via Wikimedia Commons

Ian Callum had an idea to re-body the Jaguar XJS. At that time, Jaguar was struggling to replace the XJS and had got a brand-new car code-named XJ41 to the point of production when Ford bought the company and shut down the project. So Walkinshaw got Callum to adapt the XJ41 to fit the XJS platform and pitched the result, conceived in a fraction of the time and cost, back to Jaguar, who rejected it. At that point, Aston Martin, also owned by Ford, was looking forward to building a vehicle to get the attention of the big bosses in Detroit.

They knew that Walkinshaw had a rejected design for a new sports car with them. Upon getting rejected by Jaguar, Walkinshaw took Callum's XJS based coupe to Aston Martin and told them that the vehicle could save the company. Aston Martin readily took upon the offer and accepted the design. All of this was done without Jaguar's knowledge. As the design was outsourced to Tom Walkinshaw Racing and Jaguar rejected it, there was no foul play.

The DB7 had so much XJS in it that it retained the same seat frames and even the structural elements of the steering wheel. However, Ford was not ready to approve the automobile even when it was finished. Even though Ford disapproved, Aston Martin took the car to the Geneva Motor Show, where both hands received it. After the success of the DB7, Jaguar had second thoughts about the XJS. They did a comprehensive re-skin and called the result the XK8. It stayed in production till 2006, extending the life of the XJS platform to over 30 years.

The DB7 debuted in 1993 at the Geneva Motor Show. It was followed by the 1994 supercharged V6 coupe and the 1996 Volante Convertible. The introduction of the 5.9-liter naturally aspirated V12 engine in 1999 earned DB7 a GT reputation. The 414 HP and 400 lb-ft of torque made driving a DB7 effortless, no matter what gear one was on. The new car had a top speed of 184 mph as well.

Overall, the Jaguar XJS highly influenced the making of the Aston Martin DB7. The cars shared several features, from design to engine specifications. The resemblance between both vehicles was evident. The fact that Ford owned both companies at the time and that each carmaker was desperate to produce a new automobile led to the reworking of the basic XJS design from Jaguar. The design, which was outsourced to Tom Walkinshaw Racing, was rejected by Jaguar on completion. Aston Martin readily accepted the design when Walkinshaw presented it to them. It was a turning point for Aston Martin and designer Ian Callum, who had never designed a whole car before.