Home > Aston Martin

1 History

Aston Martin was founded in 1914 by Lionel Martin and Robert Bamford . The two had joined together 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 in Chelsea and produced their first car in March 1915.

The company name was derived from Aston Hill and Lionel Martin.

After the hiatus of war, the company was revitalised with funding from Louis Zborowski . In 1922, it produced cars to compete in the French Grand Prix and set world speed and endurance records at Brooklands. 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 war halted work and the company languished throughout the conflict.

In 1947 the company was bought by David Brown Limited under the leadership of managing director Sir David BrownSir David Brown ( May 10, 1904 September 3, 1993) was a British entrepreneur, managing director of his family firm David Brown Limited. Born in Huddersfield, Yorkshire, he started work as an apprentice in the family business aged 17, becoming managing dir, its "post-war saviour". David Brown also acquired Lagonda in that year and both companies shared resources and workshops. In 1954Events January events January 14 The Hudson Motor Car Company merges with Nash-Kelvinator forming the American Motors Corporation January 14 Marilyn Monroe weds Joe DiMaggio. January 15 Mau Mau leader Waruhiu Itote is captured in Kenya January 20 The Nati David Brown brought the current Newport PagnellNewport Pagnell is a town in the traditional county of Buckinghamshire, England. It also lies within the Unitary District of Milton Keynes. It is situated about three miles north of the town of Milton Keynes itself. The town was first mentioned in the Dom site and this was the beginning of the classic series of cars to bear the initials DB. In 1950Events January January 5 US Senator Estes Kefauver introduces a resolution calling for examination of organized crime in the USA January 6 The United Kingdom recognizes the People's Republic of China. The Republic of China severs diplomatic relations with the company announced the DB2, followed by the DB3 in 1957Events January January 2 San Francisco and Los Angeles stock exchanges merge. January 3 Hamilton Watch Company introduces the first electric watch January 4 After 69 years the last issue of Colliers magazine is published January 5 Russell Endean becomes t and in 1958Events January January 1 Treaty of Rome founding the EU is implemented January 4 Sputnik 1 falls to Earth from its orbit (launched on October 4 1957) January 8 14 year old Bobby Fischer wins the United States Chess Championship January 18 Armed Lumbee Nat the Italian style 3.7 L DB4. All the cars established a good racing pedigree but the DB4 was the key to establishing the company's reputation that was cemented with the popular DB5 in 1963Events January-March January 11 The Whisky A Go-Go night club in Los Angeles, the first disco in the USA, is opened. January 14 George Wallace becomes governor of Alabama. January 22 Elysee treaty between France and Germany January 28 Black student Harvey. The company continued to develop the 'grand touring' style through the DB6 (1965-70) and the DBS and DBS V8 (1967-72, later renamed the Vantage).

Despite the popular appreciation of the cars the company was often financially troubled. In 19721972 is a leap year starting on Saturday (click link for calendar). Events January events January 2 the Pierre Hotel Heist Six men rob the safety deposit boxes of the Pierre Hotel in New York City. Loot is at least $4 million January 5 President of the Un it was bought by a Birmingham-based consortium and in 1975 by the North American businessmen Peter Sprague and George Minden. The American owners pushed the company into modernising its line, producing the V8 Vantage in 1977 and the convertible Volante in 1978 and the one-off William Towns styled Bulldog in 1980. These changes, especially the Bulldog, were not successful and in 1981 the Americans sold out to CH Industrial , who themselves gave up in 1983 to Automotive Investments, who lasted barely a year before selling the company to Peter Livanos and Victor Gauntlett. In 1986 the Ford Motor Company purchased 75% of the company and the ownership pass-the-parcel slowed.

In 1988 the company finally retired the ancient V8, having produced around 5,000 cars over twenty years, introducing the Virage range. In 1992 the Vantage was announced and the following year the company renewed the DB range by announcing the DB7. In 1993 Ford finally bought the Gauntlett shares and took full control of the firm, placing it in the Ford Premier Automotive Group. Ford invested substantially in new manufacturing and quickly ramped up production. In 1995 the company produced a record 700 vehicles and 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-engined Vanquish.

2003 was a significant year for Aston Martin. At the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, Aston Martin introduced the all 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 manufacturing facility, the first purpose built facility in Aston Martin's history. Also introduced in 2003 was the all-new DB9 coupe, which replaces the 10-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 that they would be returning to motor racing in 2005. A new division was created called Aston Martin Racing together with Prodrive who will be responsible 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.

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)), and then in GoldenEye (1995) as Bond's private car. In On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969) there appears DBS for a short time. After an interlude with Lotus, Aston Martins were used again 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 2005.

See also: List of Formula One constructors