December 2015 Classic& SportsCar 155T
heDB7remainsamongthe
mostbeautifulcarseverbuilt,its
elegantlinesrising,flowingand
fallinggracefullywithouta
controversialcornerin sight.
EnterIanCallum,whoshaped
thecharismaticcharmerwitha
confidencebeyondhisexperience.It assuredthe
companya healthyfuture,putAstonMartin
ownershipwithinthereachof manynewenthu-
siasts,andwasbuiltin numbersneverbefore
approachedby theNewportPagnellfirm.
TheDB7wasCallum’s firstcompletedesign
project,whichhe undertookduringhis10 years
at To m WalkinshawRacing.Hebeamsproudly
at GarethRichards’MendipBlueexample,as
creatorandcararebroughttogether. “I sawa
DB7theotherdayontheM6,”saysCallum,
“andI thought,whata prettylittlecar. It always
surprisesmehowniceit looks.It hasdatedwell.”
To wardstheendof the’80s,Jaguar’s fortunes
wereebbing.In ’89,Fordpaida hefty$1.8bnfor
theBrownsLanebusiness,thedealalsoextend-
ingto buyinga 75%sharein AstonMartin.A
replacementfortheXJ-Shadbeenmootedsince
theearly’80s.Twoprototypeswerebuilt,the
XJ41coupéandthesoft-topXJ42,basedonthe
newXJ40’s underpinnings. Butweight,complex-
ity andspirallingcostscausedtheprogrammeto
becancelledwhenFordtaskedtough-talking
BillHaynesto makesweepingchanges.
TWRhadshownwhattheXJ-Scoulddoin
motorsportandWalkinshawmadehismove.
HisplaninvolvedturningtheXJ41intoa car
capableof beingbuiltontheXJ-Splatform.
Code-namedProjectXX,it wasnevergoing
to be easy. ThebigXJ41hadbeentheproductof
Jaguardesigners,whileamendingits dimensions
calledforconsiderableinvestment.ThenFord
declaredthatit didn’t wantthecar, whichleftthe
wayopenforXXto be redesignedintoan Aston.
WalterHayeshadcomeoutof retirementto be
CEOof AstonMartin,andWalkinshawcalled
himto requestthathe sanctiontheproject.
“AtthetimeI receivedthatall-important
phonecallto joinTWR,I’dbeenworking
forFordforaround 12 years,”recalls
Callum.“I’dneverhadtheopportunity
to designthecompleteoutsideof a car
fromscratchandI feltfrustrated.This
wasabout12 monthsbeforeProjectXX
was putinto highgear and I had noidea
thatit wouldeventuallyleadto designing
theDB7. In fact,whenI decidedto leave
peoplethoughtI wasmad.I wasa manager
at Ford,I was35 yearsoldandI wasaboutto
jointhistinyracingcarcompany.”
Thefinancialsecuritywasquitedifferent,
butCallumwasdeterminedto makeit work:
“Whenpeopleat Fordheardit wasI whowas
workingonthenewAstonMartin,I thinkthe
doorsopeneda littlebiteasier. Theyhada sense
thatit wasgoingto be handledprofessionally.”
EquallyimportantwasthatHayesunderstood
thepeoplehe neededto impressin Detroit.
“Manyof Ford’s boardmembersdidn’t even
knowwhatAstonwas,”saysCallum.“One
personwhowason oursidewasJacquesNasser,
the vice-president of Ford Motor Co. Heknew
all aboutthebrandandtheneedto reviveit.”
Evenso,thefirm’s low-volumeoutputwas
anathemato Ford,whichmadediscussingthe
DB7investmenta toughcall:“Itwascreatedto
giveAstonMartina mainstreammodelat a timeSo saysIan Callumof the Aston
DB7, still perhapshis most
famouscreation.Mike Taylor
getsthe insidestoryon
the car’s development
PHOTOGRAPHYTONYBAKER/LATARCHIVE“It has a
lot of joy
in it”