Alex Unleashed on Cars

  When we talk about cars that saved their manufacturers such as the Porsche Boxster or the Bentley Continental GT, we’re normally talking about class-leading cars, cars that do the job better than anyone else. And yet I’d argue that the Aston Martin DB7 is probably the only car that can claim to have “saved a brand” but isn’t best in class. Why? Well: the chassis is derived from the Jaguar XJ-S, the build quality is still sus, the interior is full of Ford switchgear it wallows through corners and the price was very high. So I ask, did it deserve to be the success it was? Now at the time of conception, Aston Martin had been on the verge of collapse (again) so Ford bought a 75% stake in 1987 and then fully in 1993, Ford later bought Jaguar and then Land Rover from BMW. The DB7 was conceived as a cheaper entry level model that would bring back the glory days of the 60s when Aston epitomized cool and sophistication, consider the fact it was the first Aston to have DB (insert num...

  When Audi took over Lamborghini, much like when BMW bought Rolls-Royce or when Ford bought Aston Martin. There were those who thought Lamborghini would lose all the character and passion that had made it the legendary marque that it is. But to everyone’s surprise, as is often the way when small manufacturer’s get bought by big ones, things get much better than they did before. Whilst the last run Diablo’s did have Audi’s input, the Murcielago was the first made under Audi’s full control. One clear example is that the Murcielago wasn’t designed by Marcello Gandini but by a Belgian, Luc Donckerwolke who’d previously designed the Audi A2 & Audi R8 LMP car to name a couple. The Murcielago sported an increased engine size, (6.2 litres over 6), which meant more power, 575 to be exact, which can power the 1650 KG supercar from 0-60 in 3.6 seconds and all the way to a colossal 205 MPH top speed. Everything about the Murcielago was extreme, though the price tag was “only” £163,000...