Category:Aston Martin

Aston Martin are a classic British high-performance luxury car manufacturer, most often associated with James Bond's Aston Martin DB5 used in Goldfinger, and with later Aston Martins used in subsequent films in the series.

Origins

Aston Martin originated as a garage a dealership started by businessman Lionel Martin and engineer-racer Robert Bamford. After designing and building an initial car of their own in 1915, production had to wait until after the end of World War One, after which the company produced racecars. Aston Martin often had a precarious existence, typically being driven as a company by wealthy enthusiasts and/or a succession of racer-engineers, including Louis Zborowski (1920s), and Augustus (Bert) Bertelli (1924-).

Post-war

Post-war, the company was acquired by engineering group David Brown, known for their tractors, and David Brown also then acquired luxury carmaker Lagonda and coachbuilders Tickford.

It was during the David Brown period (1940s-1972) that Aston Martin produced the classic DB series, including the DB5 used in the 1964 James Bond film Goldfinger.

Post- David Brown

After three more takeovers, Ford started buying into the company in 1987, and went on to acquire the whole company. Aston Martin did well under Ford, and most of the company was then sold in 2007 to become a private independent concern.

The company was floated on the London Stock Exchange in 2018

Range

Many of the company's classic cars are positioned as "DB (number)", or with names beginning with the letter V (Volante, Vantage, Virage, Vanquish).

Currently Aston Martin do a range of sports and tourers with variations on the standard AM grille, and the occasional model that really hits the design sweet spot, plus an SUV with an oversized AM grille whose Toyota-ish styling is "polarising" (ie really very naff), right up to Formula One and the awesome pants-wetting Valkrie AMR Pro, which is basically a real-life Batmobile.