ASTON’S AJ6

The AJ6 engine wasn’t confined to Jaguar: to cut a long story short, when Aston Martin discovered that the drawings for the discarded ‘F-Type’ XJ41 project could be made to fit the XJS platform, the XJS effectively became the basis of Aston Martin’s new affordable model: the DB7.

This meant the entire drivetrain was Jaguar-sourced, including the AJ6 engine but clearly an Aston Martin needed strong performance and so in its Aston installation the AJ6 was supercharged. Rather oddly, Aston – or rather, TWR which assembled the cars for Aston – chose not to use the ready-made 4-litre Jaguar XJR engine, but developed its own forced-induction set-up using the smaller 3.2-litre engine and the same Eaton supercharger running higher boost at 1.0 bar. The explanation often given is that the smaller capacity gave a more sporting, higher-revving feel more appropriate for the character of the Aston Martin. Look closely at one of these cars though and the number of Jaguar emblems and part numbers on underbonnet components gives the game away immediately.