Having just reviewed the C & D article, I will paraphrase the bit
about how the DB7 is linked with the Jag F. The DB7 was designed by
TWR (Tom Walkinshaw Racing) that previously was associated with Jag
and was responsible for the XJ220. They had the F design and judged
it lacking ("too heavy, too expensive, too late") but Aston was
interested, and (since both are owned by Ford) a deal was cut. This
route to development by Aston is not at all surprising as there is a
lot of historical precedence, required by the low volume of
production. (One could argue that their last original design was the
Atom, which lead to the DB line.) The DB7 uses a lot of Jag
components, including XJS floorpan parts. Much of the body is plastic
composite or polyurethane (I guess all the Feltham aluminium beaters
have faded). The engine is a version of the Jag AJ6, reworked by TWR.
Jag is apparently using a 4-liter blown version in its own XJR, but
the engines are said to be quite different.
[Note to Zehring: The reference to balloons and blunderbusses at dawn
is from Those Magnificent Men and Their Flying Machines. The German
(a scenery-chewing Gert Frobe, ob-brit-car content) is offended and
challenges the Englander to a duel. The Englander chooses the above
weapons. They both rise suspended beneath the large balloons and aim
their weapons, but before the shots can be gotten off, Frobe's
pickelhaube punctures his vehicle. The sewage farm adjacent to the
aerodrome figures prominently in his rescue.]
A. B. Bonds agent 042
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