Aston Martin Info
Aston Martin was founded in 1914 by Lionel Martin and Robert Bamford. The two had joined forces the previous year to sell cars made by Singer. Martin raced specials at the Aston Hill Hillclimb near Aston Clinton, and the pair decided to make their own vehicles. They acquired premises at Abingdon Road in Kensington and produced their first car in March 1915.
The company name was derived from Aston Hill and Lionel Martin.
After the war hiatus, the company was revitalised with funding from Count Louis Zborowski. In 1922, Aston Martin produced cars to compete in the French Grand Prix, and the cars set world speed and endurance records at Brooklands. Lionel Martin left in 1925; the following year, a number of rich investors, including Lord Charnwood, took control of the company as Aston Martin Motors, and moved the firm to new premises in Feltham. The 1929 Aston Martin International was another successful racer and was followed by the Le Mans and the Ulster. In 1936, the company, now owned by Sir Arthur Sutherland, decided to concentrate on road cars. The advent of World War II halted work, and the company languished throughout the war's duration.
In 1947, David Brown Limited bought the company under the leadership of managing director Sir David Brown — its "post-war saviour". David Brown also acquired Lagonda that year, and both companies shared resources and workshops. In 1954, David Brown bought the site at Tickford Street in Newport Pagnell, and that was the beginning of the classic series of cars bearing the initials 'DB'. In 1950, the company announced the DB2, followed by the racing DB3 in 1957 and the Italian-styled 3.7 L DB4 in 1958. All the cars established a good racing pedigree for the firm, but the DB4 was the key to establishing the company's reputation—which was cemented with the famous DB5 in 1963. The company continued developing the "grand touring" style with the DB6 (1965–70, the DBS, and the DBS V8 (1967–72). The latter was subsequently renamed the Vantage.
Despite the cars' appreciation in value, the company was often financially troubled. In 1972, it was sold to a Birmingham-based consortium, and resold in 1975 to the North American businessmen Peter Sprague and George Minden. The new American owners pushed the company into modernizing its line, producing the V8 Vantage in 1977, the convertible Volante in 1978, and the one-off William Towns-styled Bulldog in 1980. Towns also styled the futuristic new Lagonda saloon, based on the existing V8 model. The Americans sold the company to CH Industrial, who themselves turned the company over in 1983 to Automotive Investments who, in turn, lasted barely a year before selling the company to Peter Livanos and company chairman Victor Gauntlett. At last, in 1986, the Ford Motor Company purchased 75 per cent of the company, later gaining complete control of the company.
In 1988, having produced some 5,000 cars in twenty years, the company finally retired the ancient V8 and introduced the Virage range. In 1992, the Vantage version was announced, and the following year the company renewed the DB range by announcing the DB7. In 1993, Ford finally bought Victor Gauntlett's shares and took full control of the firm, placing it in the Ford Premier Automotive Group. Ford substantially invested in new manufacturing and quickly ramped-up production. In 1994, Ford opened a new factory at Banbury Road in Bloxham. In 1995, the company produced a record 700 vehicles, in 1998 the 2,000th DB7 was built, and in 2002 the 6,000th — exceeding production of all previous DB models. The DB7 range was boosted by the addition of V12 Vantage models in 1999, and in 2001 the company introduced the V12-engine Vanquish.
2003 was a significant year for Aston Martin. At the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, Michigan, U.S.A., Aston Martin introduced the new AMV8 Vantage concept car. Expected to have few changes before its introduction in 2005, the new AMV8 Vantage brings back the classic V8 engine and will allow the company to compete in a larger market. The year also saw the opening of the Gaydon factory, the first purpose-built factory in Aston Martin's history. Also introduced in 2003, was the new DB9 coupé, which replaces the ten-year-old DB7. A convertible version of the DB9, known as the DB9 Volante, was introduced at the 2004 Detroit Auto Show.
In December 2003, Aston Martin announced they would return to motor racing in 2005. A new division was created, called Aston Martin Racing, who will be responsible, together with Prodrive, for the design, development, and management of the DBR9 program. The DBR9 will compete in the GT class in sports car races including the world-famous 24 hours of Le Mans.
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Astons on film
The very British glamour of Aston Martin cars meant they were a natural choice for the James Bond series of action films, notably the silver DB5 that appears in Goldfinger (1964) and Thunderball (1965) as James Bond's company car, and then in GoldenEye (1995) and Tomorrow Never Dies (1997) as his private car. In On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969) there appears, for a short time, a charcoal grey DBS. After an interlude with Lotus, Aston Martins were again used, a charcoal grey Volante in The Living Daylights (1987), and, after another hiatus, the Vanquish appeared in Die Another Day (2002). In early 2004, Henrik Fisker, Design Director at Aston Martin, revealed that James Bond will be driving the new AMV8 Vantage for Bond's next adventure in 2006.
The Italian Job (1969) features a silver DB4 Convertible, owned by crook Charlie Croker, played by Michael Caine. Later, this car is destroyed in a Mafia ambush, along with a pair of E-type Jaguars. The cars were meant to serve as getaway vehicles in the subsequent robbery "in case anything goes wrong." The gang decide to proceed despite this loss, and the question of what happens if anything goes wrong is pointedly ignored by Croker. Interestingly, the filming of the Aston going over the cliff was not considered dramatic enough by the director (due to the explosion looking too "faked") and so rather than destroy another Aston, a Lancia mocked up to look like its British counterpart was pushed over the edge for the second take. In the 2003 remake with the same title, the character Handsome Rob, played by Jason Statham, ends up driving an Aston Martin, but not the Vanquish that he wanted. Instead, it is a DB7 Volante.
See also: List of Formula One constructors
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Models
Aston Martin's model naming can be confusing to the uninitiated. In general, high performance models use the "Vantage" name, while convertibles are called "Volante".
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GT cars
1948–1950 Aston Martin 2-Litre Sports (DB1)
1950–1953 Aston Martin DB2
1953–1957 Aston Martin DB2/4
1957–1959 Aston Martin DB Mark III
1958–1963 Aston Martin DB4
1961–1963 Aston Martin DB4 GT Zagato
1963–1965 Aston Martin DB5
1965–1969 Aston Martin DB6
1967–1972 Aston Martin DBS
1969–1989 Aston Martin V8
1993–2003 Aston Martin DB7
1993–1999 Aston Martin DB7
1999–2003 Aston Martin V12 Vantage
2002–2004 Aston Martin DB AR1
2004– Aston Martin DB9
2005– Aston Martin V8 Vantage
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Supercars
1977–1989 Aston Martin V8 Vantage
1986–1990 Aston Martin V8 Zagato
1989–2000 Aston Martin Virage
1989–1996 Aston Martin Virage/Virage Volante
1993–2000 Aston Martin Vantage
1996–2000 Aston Martin V8 Coupe/V8 Volante
2001– Aston Martin V12 Vanquish
2004– Aston Martin V12 Vanquish S
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Other
1961–1964 Lagonda Rapide
1976–1989 Aston Martin Lagonda
1980 Aston Martin Bulldog
A subsidiary of PAG Aston Martin and Lagonda road car timeline, 1948-present [edit]
Type 40s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s
8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
GT DB1 DB2 DB2/4 DB III DBS/Vantage DB7 V12 Vantage V8 Vantage
DB4 DB5 DB6 V8 Virage/V8 DB9
V8 Vantage V8 Vantage V12 Vanquish
Supercar Zagato Zagato
4-door Rapide Lagonda
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Race Cars
Aston Martin DB3
Aston Martin DB3S
Aston Martin DBR1
Aston Martin DBR2
Aston Martin DBR3
Aston Martin DBR4
Aston Martin DBR5
Aston Martin DP212
Aston Martin DP214
Aston Martin DP215
Lola - Aston Martin
Aston Martin Nimrod (1981-1984)
Aston Martin AMR1 (1989)
Aston Martin DBR9 (2005-)
Aston Martin DBRS9 (2005-)
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Toy Models
Corgi model car- Aston Martin DB5 (new version)Aston Martin has also had a presence in the toy industry; one of the most famous toy cars ever was the Corgi James Bond Aston Martin DB5, pictured here. First released in 1965 and then re-released some years later, it has provided many generations of children with a taste of the Aston Martin legend.
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External links
Aston Martin Lagonda Ltd. - Official Company Site
Aston Martin Racing - Official Company Site
Aston Martin picture galleries
Aston Martin Images and Info
Aston Martin Owners Club
Aston Martin Owners Club - Canada/USA
Aston Martin Picture Gallery
Aston Martin Forum - The Site for Aston Martin Owners
Aston Martin DBR 9 Picture Gallery
