Aston Martin

Aston Martin Lagonda Limited is a British manufacturer of luxury sports cars, based in Gaydon, Warwickshire. The company name is derived from the name of one of the company’s founders, Lionel Martin, and from the Aston Hill speed hillclimb near Aston Clinton in Buckinghamshire

From 1994 until 2007 Aston Martin was part of the Ford Motor Company, becoming part of the company’s Premier Automotive Group in 2000. On 12 March 2007, it was purchased for �479 million (US$848 million) by a joint venture company, co-owned by Investment Dar and Adeem Investment of Kuwait and English businessman John Sinders. Ford retained a US$77 million stake in Aston Martin, valuing the company at US$925 million

Aston Martin was founded in 1913 by Lionel Martin and Robert Bamford. The two had joined forces as Bamford & Martin the previous year to sell cars made by Singer from premises in Callow Street, London where they also serviced GWK and Calthorpe vehicles. Martin raced specials at Aston Hill near Aston Clinton, and the pair decided to make their own vehicles. The first car to be named Aston Martin was created by Martin by fitting a four-cylinder Coventry-Simplex engine to the chassis of a 1908 Isotta-Fraschini. They acquired premises at Henniker Place in Kensington and produced their first car in March 1915. Production could not start because of the outbreak of World War I, and Martin joined the Admiralty and Bamford the Royal Army Service Corps. All machinery was sold to the Sopwith Aviation Company.


* 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
* 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
* 1993�2003 Aston Martin DB7/DB7 Vantage
* 2002�2004 Aston Martin DB AR1
* 2001�2007 Aston Martin V12 Vanquish
* 2004�2007 Aston Martin V12 Vanquish S
* 2004� Aston Martin DB9
* 2005� Aston Martin V8 and V12 Vantage
* 2007� Aston Martin DBS V12
* 2009� Aston Martin One-77

Other

* 1944 Aston Martin Atom (concept)
* 1961�1964 Lagonda Rapide
* 1976�1989 Aston Martin Lagonda
* 1980 Aston Martin Bulldog (concept)
* 1993 Lagonda Vignale (concept)
* 2008� Aston Martin Rapide
* 2007 Aston Martin V12 Vantage RS (concept)
* 2008 Aston Martin Vanquish S