Tokyo—The Yokohama Rubber Co., Ltd., has announced that sports car manufacturer Aston Martin Lagonda Limited of the United Kingdom has selected Yokohama's AVS Sport high-performance tyre as an original equipment approved 19" Option for the 2002 model of the DB7 Vantage.

The tyre size is front 245/35 ZR19 93Y, and 265/30 ZR19 93Y for the rear. The 2002 model is the second AML car that has approved AVS Sport as original equipment, following the V12 Vanquish launched last year. All Yokohama tyres that have been approved by Aston Martin Lagonda have been marked on the sidewall "AML", as a visual sign that these are the right tyres for the driving demands of an Aston Martin sports car.

Yokohama jointly developed the "AML" marked AVS Sport with Aston Martin with the goal of achieving the highest possible performance in a street tyre. This goal was to offer owners a 19" High Performance Option alloy wheel and tyre package, this was achieved after many miles of testing in England and on German Autobahns. In its selection for original equipment on the 2002 model of the DB7 Vantage, the "AML" marked AVS Sport received strong marks for its high-level achievement of both dry and wet performance, as well as driving stability and comfort at high speeds.

World's famous high-grade sports cars including Boxster and Boxster S from Porsche have been using the AVS Sport as their original equipment tyres since last year.

The DB7 Vantage is a high-grade sports car of Aston Martin Lagonda and the successor of the DB5 driven by James Bond in the film Goldfinger, the third installment of the 007 series released in 1964. The new car has a large body measuring 4700 mm in length and 1830 mm in width and incorporates a high-power engine with a maximum output of 420 horsepower. It is available in both coupe and convertible types called the DB7 Vantage Coupe and the DB7 Vantage Volante, respectively.