The Aston Martin DB7 from 1998 uses NA Miata interior door handles.

https://youtu.be/19BWhRpI0r0?t=215

The choice really does always come back to Miata.

I had a moment where I was watching that auction for that car when I realized that finding a Youtuber who had the same taste in cars as me meant I might actually have to compete with him for the same cars at some point. I think he was really surprised to win that car at that price. If i'd known how low it was going to go I would have lined up my ducks and bought it! Impossible to lose money unless you blow it up. I laughed my ass off when he immediately got it stuck in the snow. 

Parts bin engineering at its finest. Recognize this steering wheel from things that rhyme with Clown Pictoria and Laurus?

In reply to Harvey :

Lil Stampie says that our Miata uses Aston Martin door handles.  It's all in perspective.

There's a ton of FMC parts on that car. 

But there's also hand made leather headliner, which is pretty impressive to see.  And the leather seats...  wow.

I'll be the first to say that the V12 is two Taurus engines glued together... (it's not, but whatever)

I would much rather have a DB7 than a Miata. I have driven a couple DB7s. They are one of my favorite cars. The six with a supercharger is a fantastic motor. I would take that over a v12 all day long.  I liked Hoovies description of it. Probably the best way to describe a DB7 that I have ever heard. 

In reply to dean1484 :

Why the I6 over the V12?  

The V12 is lighter and more powerful than the blown I6 was.  

I'd even take an auto V12 all day long.  They drive really nice.

The V12 is glorious. My uncle had a V12 DB7 Vantage convertible. The headliner on that was suede. They really made that thing sound good. When you fired it up the noise was amazing.

Similar to the case with the XJR (cough), the supercharged 6 with the polished valve cover looks about a mile cooler and more classic than the rather boring looking engine that came after, even though it did make more power. 

it is an I6 not a v6. I just liked the 6 better and it is all the car needs. I have also worked on both motors. I far prefer the 6 than the 12.

Harvey said:

The V12 is glorious. My uncle had a V12 DB7 Vantage convertible. The headliner on that was suede. They really made that thing sound good. When you fired it up the noise was amazing.

It can actually sound better.  If you take the the middle resonator out, the sound is amazing.  But that was a sample size of one, which happened to be DB7 v12 1 of 1 at the time.

BTW, I do know there are a lot of improvements that the V12 can deal with- some with a simple recalibration, but some didn't show up until the Vanquish (some bottom end improvements that found ~50 free HP).  Still, that V12 is pretty amazing, and really nice to drive.  My one complaint would be that it's really loafing at speeds well over the legal limit.  IIRC, during development, it hit 188 at the Nardo track.

edit- looking though my archives- I can't find any records of the calibration in the '99 V12... bummer.  Maybe I have an old CD of archived files.

I choose to tell people that I installed DB7 door handles in my Miata. Makes it classier.

For pure sound I don't think you can beat a V12.  Hearing the DBR9s and the Muscle Milk Aston Lola screaming down the back straight at Mid Ohio is something I will never forget and still miss.

Boutique automakers frequently raid more common cars for parts.   Remember the Aston that had VW Scirocco tail lights? 

In reply to Joe Gearin :

Lest we forget that Ferrari has had door handles from a Fiat.

In reply to alfadriver :

Or that Ford GT40s had taillights from a 1960 Chevy Corvair

Taillights are a common one.  The 2000s Vanquish had Hyundai Sonata tail lamps. Lotus Esprits had Toyota ae86 lamps.  

It’s like the game with motor homes,

figure out what the lamps came from. 

Joe Gearin said:

Boutique automakers frequently raid more common cars for parts.   Remember the Aston that had VW Scirocco tail lights? 

 

So what you're saying is my 16v has Aston taillights?

Don't forget about the Lamborghini Diablo using the Nissan 300 ZX headlights:

That is a sinfully ugly interior/dash.  An elementary school kid could do better with play doh.  And please don't give me 80s/90s excuses.  This is a country that birthed Christopher Wren.  There is beauty then there is the crap above. 

What was that supercar that used VW Jetta tail lights turned on their sides?

nutherjrfan said:

That is a sinfully ugly interior/dash.  An elementary school kid could do better with play doh.  And please don't give me 80s/90s excuses.  This is a country that birthed Christopher Wren.  There is beauty then there is the crap above. 

Well the gauge/switchgear placement isn’t horrible, I think the color combination looks like crap. Keep it one color and get rid of that wood accent, it’s too light for the darker dashboard and looks like someone just ran down to Pep Boys for some stick on dashboard accents. Is that dash green or gray? I can’t tell. The carpet looks green. 

If I ever do buy an old Aston i am 100% holding out for a green interior. In fact, if anyone spots a 996 911 with the green interior send me links to those too!

Appleseed said:

What was that supercar that used VW Jetta tail lights turned on their sides?

That was the Invicta S1 and the tail lights were Passat B5.5