Performance for the discerning

Aston Martin DB6

1934 Aston Martin Ulster

1937 Aston Martin 2 litre Speed Model

Aston Martin cars have an enviable reputation for quality, styling, engineering and effortless performance, and also enjoy Royal Patronage from HRH The Prince of Wales.

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Aston Martins have always been produced individually. In 1913 Martin turned his passion for racing into a business and joined forces with Robert Bamford to sell Singer cars.

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The partners had always wanted to manufacture cars of their own - and a name was needed. Martin regularly competed in climbs at Aston Hill in Buckinghamshire - and with the simple combination of a hill and a driver, Aston Martin was born. In 1914 Bamford & Martin Limited bought a premises in Chelsea, and the following March, the very first Aston Martin car was registered.

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Fitted with a Coventry Simplex (a forerunner to the Coventry Climax) side valve engine, built to Martin’s own specification. By 1920 the company was operating from Abingdon Road in Kensington, and motoring enthusiast Count Zborowski funded the construction of two Aston Martin racing cars, which competed in the 1922 French Grand Prix, giving the brand its respected racing credentials.

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Lionel Martin left the company in 1925, by which time the Charnwood family were involved and playing a major role. In 1926 Lord Charnwood collaborated with William Renwick and Augustus Bertelli to form Aston Martin Motors at a new premises in Victoria Road, Feltham, Middlesex.

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By 1929 the Aston Martin International model had evolved, setting new standards for road holding and handling. In its racing guise it helped Bertelli to build a successful racing programme and in 1932 he and Pat Driscoll won the Biennel Cup in the Le Mans 24 hour race. At the end of that year the company passed into the hands of Sir Arthur Sutherland and was managed by his son Gordon.

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The International was succeeded by the Le Mans model, which in turn gave way to the Ulster. Then in 1936, the company decided to focus its attention on a new touring car model, with the appearance of the 2.0 litre engine for the 15/98. Early in 1939 a prototype was built using independent front suspension and a Cotal electric gearbox, packaged in an early form of space frame. Known as the Atom, it was developed throughout the Second World War and although it never went into production, it was the basis for the first generation of post-war Aston Martins.

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The next significant chapter in the Aston Martin story came in 1947 when David Brown bought the Feltham company and the DB era was born. Later that year he also acquired the successful motorsports company Lagonda, a natural stablemate for Aston Martin. Though quintessentially British the Lagonda name comes from founder Wilbur Gunns early life in Lagonda, Ohio. The combined resources of Aston Martin and Lagonda under the leadership of David Brown, bought new dynamism, and great achievements both on and off the track. In 1948 the 2.0 litre Sports entered production and won that year's 24-hour race at Spa Franchorchamp.

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In April 1950 the 2.6 DB2 was announced. It took equal first in the Index of Performance at that year's Le Mans, and won the 3.0 litre class. Both Aston Martin and Lagonda cars were built at Hanworth Park in Feltham, with engines, chassis and running gear assembled at David Brown's factory in Farsley, Yorkshire. Then in 1954, Brown bought Tickford Motor Bodies in Newport Pagnell, where the production facilities for the Vanquish are now located. By 1957 it was truly home to Aston Martin and Lagonda. Most components including engines were now being manufactured and assembled there.

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That year saw the DB MkIII, which pioneered the use of disc brakes, developed from the company's racing experience.  Its most successful racing car was the DBR1/300, which won the World Sports Car Championship in 1959. During 1958 and 1959, four DBR1s won six world championship races and set six new lap records. A Formula 1 version of the DBR1 was raced with little success. It's front engined layout now outdated compared to the new rear engined cars.

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The DBR4, which represented a major leap forward in design, was introduced in 1958. Styled by the design house Touring of Milan, it was equipped with a 3.7 litre engine designed by Aston Martin. By 1963 the rapidly rising costs of competitive motorsport had begun to take its toll and Aston Martin decided to withdraw and use its resources to refine its production cars instead.

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It was a bold decision which heralded a new era as the company's production and reputation stepped up a gear. In 1963 the now legendary 4.0 litre DB5 was introduced, a car so popular that production had to be increased twofold to meet worldwide demand. The car owed some of its global popularity to its role as the vehicle of choice for James Bond 007 as featured in the films ‘Goldfinger' and ’Thunderball'. The DB6 was introduced in 1965 and remained in productionuntil 1970. Its convertible equivalent, the Volante, was the first European car with a power-operated hood.

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It was followed by the DBS in 1967, the biggest advance in Grand Touring style and design since the DB4. Designed entirely at Newport Pagnall, it came with a 4.0 litre engine and later evolved into the DBSV8. In 1972 Aston Martin would enter another new era, in which its  ownership changed hands several times. First it was acquired by Company Developments, a North of England based group, with the now knighted Sir David Brown retaining a seat on the board and becoming President. Production of the DBS and DBSV8 continued until May 1972 when modified versions appeared under the name Aston Martin Vantage and AM V8.

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The company changed hands again in 1975, when it was taken over by American Peter Sprague and Canadian George Minden. There were immediate moves to inject new vitality and a direct result was the appearance of a totally new Lagonda in 1976. With coachwork by William Towns, who had previously styled the DBS, its strikingly modern appearance and a very advanced specification made a considerable impact. The following year saw the introduction of the Aston Martin V8 Vantage and a year later a convertible version, the Volante, was unveiled. In 1980 a revolutionary mid-engine two seater named the Bulldog with a 5.7 litre fuel injected twin turbo was released.

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In 1981 Aston Martin Lagonda was taken over again by Petrol Company Pace Petroleum and CH Industrials. Within two years Automotive Investments took control and in 1984 the company changed hands again when the family of Peter Livanos took a 75% holding and Victor Gauntlett took 25%.

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In 1986 Aston Martin Lagonda partnered with the legendary Italian styling house to create the 180mph Vantage Zagato, an exclusive model of which just fifty were built. The following year the company partnered with James Bond again in 'The Living Daylights' and The Ford Motor Company purchased 75% of the company's shares. In October 1988 the new Virage was unveiled. Designed to take the Company into the 21st century, this 155mph, two door, 2+2 seater replaced the V8, which had now been in production for 20 years.

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With Ford’s involvement there was investment in design, production and the sourcing of components and materials. 1992 saw an extension of the Virage range with a 6.3 litre engine conversion, and the Virage Volante Convertible. The 550 horsepowered twin supercharged Vantage was also previewed. At the Geneva show the following year, Aston Martin announced the return of a DB model for the first time in more than 20 years. The DB7' was named 'Car of the Show'.

Tony Brooks in the 1957 Le Mans DBR1

The 1959 Formula 1 DBR4

The 1964 James Bond DB5

1970 Aston Martin DBS V8

1986 Aston Martin V8 Vantage Volante

2009 Aston Martin DBS

That summer Ford took complete ownership of Aston Martin Lagonda, having invested £65 million in the company for the design, development and provision of manufacturing facilities for the DB7. To accommodate the DB7, the company bought a specialist paint and assembly plant at Bloxham in Oxfordshire from Jaguar Sport. A record was established in 1995 when more than 700 new cars were produced and delivered in a single year for the first time in the company's history.

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In addition to the spectacular success of the DB7, production of the Vantage passed the 100 mark and preparations were made for the introduction of the DB7 Volante model to the United States. This world debut signalled the return of Aston Martin to North America. Meanwhile the DB7 rapidly had become the most successful model ever by passing the 1000 mark in October 1996 and the 2000th in July 1998.

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Major introductions in 1999 included the launch of the first ever 12 cylinder DB7 Vantage and Vantage Volante, powered by a 6.0 litre 420 horsepower engine developed in close conjunction with Ford RVT and Cosworth. In July 2000 Dr Ulrich Bez joined the company as Chief Executive, and October saw the delivery of the last Aston Martin V8 model.

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Since the DBS began production in 1970, Aston Martin constructed 5016 V8 models at Newport Pagnall and 30 years of continuous improvement and refinement saw the engine's output double from 300 to 600 horsepower. In February 2001 the V12 Vanquish, the most sophisticated and technologically advanced new model ever designed, developed and built by Aston Martin was unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show. This totally new model with a sequential gearbox became its new flagship model.

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In 2007, a consortium led by David Richards purchased Aston Martin.

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On 19 July 2007, the Newport Pagnell plant rolled out the last of nearly 13,000 cars made there since 1955, a Vanquish S. The Tickford Street facility was converted to Aston Martin's service and restoration department. UK production is now concentrated at Gaydon on the former RAF V-bomber airfield.