The History of Aston Martin

The brand is generally considered to have been founded by Robert Bamford and Lionel Martin. In 1914 in London, they built a lightweight sports car powered by a 1.4-liter Coventry-Simplex engine. The new car was named "Aston Martin" in honor of Martin's win the previous year at the Aston Clinton hill climb. In January 1920, series production of the second Aston Martin model began at a workshop on Abingdon Road in London.

During this period, Aston Martin cars took part in a variety of competitions, gaining racing and engineering experience.

In 1924, Count Louis Zborowski, the company's financial backer, was killed in a crash during a race at Monza. Aston Martin's fortunes took a sharp turn for the worse, and the nearly bankrupt company was bought for just 6,000 pounds sterling by the engineer Renwick. Until 1936, all new Aston Martin cars were fitted with a 1.5-liter engine developed by Renwick and his partner, the Italian A. C. Bertelli.

In 1939, a new car called the Atom was unveiled, created by the company's chief engineer, Claude Hill. In 1940, the Atom became famous across the country after appearing at a motor show.

For Aston Martin, the Second World War coincided with the arrival of a new owner, David Brown, and soon a series of cars called "DB" (after the owner's initials) was launched. These cars were fitted with Lagonda engines. In total, fifteen Aston Martin-Lagonda DB1 cars were built.

From 1953 to 1956, the DB3S was especially popular. Its engine produced 200 horsepower (about 150 kW), and it was the most successful racing car in the marque's history. The DBR racing series also stood out in competition.

In 1959, an elegant model appeared (the DB4 series), regarded at the time as the most successful grand tourer among its British rivals. These cars were designed by Tadek Marek and had a 3.7-liter, 240-horsepower engine. The car could reach a record-setting 257 km/h (160 mph). In 1960, 19 Aston Martin DB4 GT sports cars were built. Today they are all in private collections.

The Aston Martin DB5, introduced in 1963 and fitted with a powerful engine of up to 4 liters, is familiar to many James Bond fans from the films Goldfinger and Thunderball. In 2006, in Casino Royale, Bond again drove a powerful Aston Martin DBS.

1965 was a very successful year for the DB6 series, which now ranked among elite cars with room for four people. The DBS and DBS Vantage models of the late 1960s were even more powerful (340 to 450 horsepower).

In 1972, Aston Martin came under the ownership of Company Developments Ltd., and production of cars with the "DB" designation ended. They were replaced by low-volume sports cars badged Vantage for coupes and Volante for convertibles. Aston Martin was a pioneer in using direct fuel injection and American automatic transmissions in its cars.

In 1976, the luxurious and extravagant Aston Martin Lagonda appeared. It had a distinctive wedge-shaped hood, with a 390-horsepower engine underneath. Only millionaires could afford such a car, for example the Prince and Princess of Saudi Arabia.

In the 1980s, Aston Martin's situation was far from ideal. The company changed hands, but stability never came until 1987, when the American automotive giant Ford Motor Company acquired 75% of Aston Martin's shares. A year later, a new model, the Virage, arrived on the market, successfully combining the achievements of earlier years, ultra-modern design, and technical innovations such as a new chassis.

Gradually, thanks to Ford's skillful management, Aston Martin regained its former prestige by the 1990s. The company's finest creation is rightly considered to be the DB7 sports car, built in this period, and demand did not fall for the Virage, Volante, and Vantage models with an improved V8 engine producing up to 557 horsepower.

After returning to motorsport in 2005, Aston Martin won several major victories in 2007 and 2008.

At the turn of the millennium, Ford, as Aston Martin's owner, officially unveiled the Aston Martin V12 Vanquish, with remarkable performance. The car is packed with electronic innovations, such as an extremely quick-thinking onboard computer. Each car is assembled by hand by English craftsmen to individual order, so no two cars are exactly alike.

To this day, Aston Martin cars are not built on an assembly line but in a few small factories in central England. Under the hood of each car is a special plate bearing the name of the craftsman who assembled it.