Although Victor Gauntlett had long mooted the idea, it took the arrival of Ford money and TWR Group know-how for a new generation, 'small' Aston Martin to become a reality.

Introduced at the March 1993 Geneva Salon - albeit deliveries did not start until late the following year - the newcomer had been subjected to more testing and development work than any of the marque's previous models.

Indeed, under the watchful eye of Engineering Director Rod Mansfield Project NPX (as the DB7 was labelled) got through some thirty prototypes.

Based around a steel semi-monocoque chassis the DB7 was equipped with all-round independent suspension, four-wheel disc brakes and power-assisted rack and pinion steering.

Derived from a proven Jaguar unit, the 3239cc DOHC straight-six engine boasted four valves per cylinder, Zytec multi-point fuel injection and an Eaton supercharger.

Credited with developing 335bhp and 360lbft, it was allied to five-speed manual transmission as standard and reputedly enab...