TWIN TEST
Despite coming from two different manufacturers, by sharing much below the surface, the XJS and Aston Martin DB7 are closely related. We compare a straight six-engined example of each to discover which of these surprising siblings we prefer
IT’S SURPRISING how many of us have unexpected relatives. Former American presidents Barack Obama and George W Bush, for example, are apparently tenth cousins while the comedian, Josh Widdicombe, is a descendant of the 14th century British monarch, King Edward I. Even more amazingly, my wife is said to be related to Sir Isaac Newton.
Yet perhaps the most unexpected family members are the Aston Martin DB7 and Jaguar XJS. Despite being as different in character and image as my wife is from a 17th century astronomer, physicist, and mathematician, with one heavily based on the other, they aren’t so much distant relatives as non-identical twins.
But like all siblings, with their production overlapping by a couple of years, it made the pair rivals. So, like choosing between two very different but unexpectedly related American politicians, which of these automotive siblings do we prefer today?
The reason for this association is simple; the DB7 started life in the late Seventies as a Jaguar, an XJ40-based sports car project that would have eventually replaced the XJS. Internally known as the XJ41, it was the work of Jaguar designer, Keith Helfet, who was (and still is) unashamedly influenced by the company’s most iconic model, the E-type, meaning it had a very classic look compared to the many wedgeshaped models of the era such as the BMW M1, Ferrari 308 GT4 and the Lotus Esprit.
“For me, the origami styling fashion from the mid-Seventies was completely unappealing,” he said during an interview in a 2018 issue of JW about the car. “I don’t do square lines; I do flowing sculpture and that’s what Jaguars are about.”
Owing to rising development costs, its increasingly complicated specification which later included a turbocharged engine and all-wheel drive, and despite ten years of constant development, the XJ41 was canned in 1989 by Jaguar’s then new owner, Ford.
Keith was naturally devastated by the decision. “I was distraught, I was absolutely gutted. It had all gone so sour and I was really upset about it,” he continued.
Not a man to give up, he later realised the hard points of both the XJ41 and XJS were the same, meaning the body of the new car would fit onto the chassis of the older one, so his design could be resurrected at a fraction of the original cost. Jaguar’s engineering director, Jim Randle, brought up the proposed project at the next board meeting of JaguarSport (a satellite company owned 50/50 between Jaguar and Tom Walkinshaw Racing). The independent motorsport team that had taken Jaguar back to the winner��
