Aston Martin
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings PLC is an English manufacturer of
luxury Luxury may refer to: * Luxury goods, an economic good or service for which demand increases more than proportionally as income rises *Luxury tax, tax on products not considered essential, such as expensive cars **Luxury tax (sports), surcharge pu ...
sports car A sports car is a car designed with an emphasis on dynamic performance, such as handling, acceleration, top speed, the thrill of driving and racing capability. Sports cars originated in Europe in the early 1900s and are currently produced by ...
s and
grand tourer A grand tourer (GT) is a type of car that is designed for high speed and long-distance driving, due to a combination of performance and luxury attributes. The most common format is a Front-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout, front-engine, rear-wh ...
s. Its predecessor was founded in 1913 by
Lionel Martin Lionel Walker Birch Martin (1878 – 21 October 1945) was an English businessman who co-founded the company that became Aston Martin. Early life He was born at Nansladron at Pentewan near St Austell in Cornwall, and was an only child. His fa ...
and
Robert Bamford Robert Bamford (16 June 1883 – 16 April 1942) was an English engineer, who with Lionel Martin (1878–1945), founded a company in January 1913 that became Aston Martin. Before his career in the car industry he was active as a racing cyclist. ...
. Steered from 1947 by David Brown, it became associated with expensive grand touring cars in the 1950s and 1960s, and with the fictional character
James Bond The ''James Bond'' series focuses on a fictional British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short-story collections. Since Fleming's death in 1964, eight other authors have ...
following his use of a DB5 model in the 1964 film '' Goldfinger''. Their sports cars are regarded as a British cultural icon. Aston Martin has held a Royal Warrant as purveyor of motorcars to the
Prince of Wales Prince of Wales ( cy, Tywysog Cymru, ; la, Princeps Cambriae/Walliae) is a title traditionally given to the heir apparent to the English and later British throne. Prior to the conquest by Edward I in the 13th century, it was used by the rulers ...
since 1982, and has over 160 car dealerships in 53 countries, making it a global automobile brand. The company is traded at the
London Stock Exchange London Stock Exchange (LSE) is a stock exchange in the City of London, England, United Kingdom. , the total market value of all companies trading on LSE was £3.9 trillion. Its current premises are situated in Paternoster Square close to St Pau ...
and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index. In 2003 it received the
Queen's Award for Enterprise The Queen's Awards for Enterprise is an awards programme for British businesses and other organizations who excel at international trade, innovation, sustainable development or promoting opportunity (through social mobility). They are the highest ...
for outstanding contribution to international trade. The company has survived seven bankruptcies throughout its history. The headquarters and main production of its sports cars and grand tourers are in a 22-hectare (55-acre) facility in
Gaydon Gaydon is a civil parish and village in Warwickshire, England, situated between Leamington Spa and Banbury. In the 2001 census, the parish had a population of 376, increasing to 446 at the 2011 Census. The village is at the junction of the ...
,
Warwickshire Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, and the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare at Stratford-upon-Avon an ...
, England, on the former site of
RAF Gaydon Royal Air Force Gaydon or more simply RAF Gaydon is a former Royal Air Force station located east of Wellesbourne, Warwickshire and north west of Banbury, Oxfordshire, England. RAF Gaydon opened in 1942 and is known for its role during the ...
, adjacent to the
Jaguar Land Rover Gaydon Centre The Jaguar Land Rover Gaydon Centre, which is situated north-west of the village of Gaydon, Warwickshire, England, is one of the principal engineering centres of Jaguar Land Rover and the location of the headquarters of Land Rover. The site ho ...
. The old 3.6-acre facility in Newport Pagnell,
Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (), abbreviated Bucks, is a ceremonial county in South East England that borders Greater London to the south-east, Berkshire to the south, Oxfordshire to the west, Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-ea ...
is the present home of the Aston Martin Works classic car department, which focuses on heritage sales, service, spares and restoration operations. The 36-hectare (90-acre) factory in
St Athan St Athan ( cy, Sain Tathan) is a village and community (Wales), community in the Vale of Glamorgan in South Wales. The village and its parish church are dedicated to Saint Tathan. The church dates to the 13th–14th century, though an earlier ch ...
,
Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...
features three converted 'super-hangars' from
MOD St Athan Ministry of Defence St Athan or MOD St Athan (Welsh: Maes awyr Sain Tathan), formerly known as RAF St Athan, is a large Ministry of Defence unit near the village of St Athan in the Vale of Glamorgan, southern Wales. It was the designated site for ...
, and serves as the production site of Aston Martin's first-ever
SUV A sport utility vehicle (SUV) is a car classification that combines elements of road-going passenger cars with features from off-road vehicles, such as raised ground clearance and four-wheel drive. There is no commonly agreed-upon definiti ...
, the DBX. Aston Martin plans on building electric vehicles on both its Gaydon and St Athan factories by 2025. Its Formula One team is headquartered in Silverstone, with a new factory set to be operational by 2023. The factory features three interconnected buildings and is based in a 30-acre site directly opposite the Silverstone circuit. The Aston Martin brand is increasingly being used, mostly through licensing, on other products including a submarine, real estate development, and aircraft.


History


Founding

Aston Martin was founded in 1913 by Lionel Martin and
Robert Bamford Robert Bamford (16 June 1883 – 16 April 1942) was an English engineer, who with Lionel Martin (1878–1945), founded a company in January 1913 that became Aston Martin. Before his career in the car industry he was active as a racing cyclist. ...
. The two had joined forces as Bamford & Martin the previous year to sell cars made by
Singer Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or withou ...
from premises in Callow Street, London where they also serviced GWK and Calthorpe vehicles. Martin raced specials at Aston Hill near
Aston Clinton Aston Clinton is a historic village and civil parish in the Vale of Aylesbury in Buckinghamshire, England. The village lies at the foot of the Chiltern Hills, between the Wendover and Aylesbury arms of the Grand Union Canal. Surrounding towns i ...
, 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 Coventry Climax was a British forklift truck, fire pump, racing, and other specialty engine manufacturer. History Pre WW1 The company was started in 1903 as Lee Stroyer, but two years later, following the departure of Stroyer, it was relocat ...
engine to the chassis of a 1908
Isotta Fraschini Isotta Fraschini () was an Italian luxury car manufacturer, also producing trucks, as well as engines for marine and aviation use. Founded in Milan, Italy, in 1900 by Cesare Isotta and the brothers Vincenzo, Antonio, and Oreste Fraschini, in 19 ...
. They acquired premises at Henniker Mews in
Kensington Kensington is a district in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in the West End of London, West of Central London. The district's commercial heart is Kensington High Street, running on an east–west axis. The north-east is taken up b ...
and produced their first car in March 1915. Production could not start because of the outbreak of the
First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, when Martin joined the
Admiralty Admiralty most often refers to: *Admiralty, Hong Kong *Admiralty (United Kingdom), military department in command of the Royal Navy from 1707 to 1964 *The rank of admiral *Admiralty law Admiralty can also refer to: Buildings * Admiralty, Traf ...
and Bamford joined the Army Service Corps.


1918–1939: Interwar years

After the war they found new premises at Abingdon Road, Kensington and designed a new car. Bamford left in 1920 and Bamford & Martin was revitalised with funding from Count Louis Zborowski. In 1922, Bamford & Martin produced cars to compete in the
French Grand Prix The French Grand Prix (french: Grand Prix de France), formerly known as the Grand Prix de l'ACF (Automobile Club de France), is an auto race held as part of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile's annual Formula One World Championsh ...
, which went on to set world speed and endurance records at
Brooklands Brooklands was a motor racing circuit and aerodrome built near Weybridge in Surrey, England, United Kingdom. It opened in 1907 and was the world's first purpose-built 'banked' motor racing circuit as well as one of Britain's first airfields, ...
. Three works Team Cars with 16-valve twin cam engines were built for racing and record-breaking: chassis number 1914, later developed as the Green Pea; chassis number 1915, the
Razor Blade A razor is a bladed tool primarily used in the removal of body hair through the act of shaving. Kinds of razors include straight razors, safety razors, disposable razors, and electric razors. While the razor has been in existence since before ...
record car; and chassis number 1916, later developed as the
Halford Special The Halford Special was a Grand Prix racing car of the 1920s built by engine designer Major Frank Halford on the chassis of an early Side Valve Aston Martin tourer. It was one of the most advanced British-built racing cars of the mid-1920s and had ...
. Approximately 55 cars were built for sale in two configurations; long chassis and short chassis. Bamford & Martin went bankrupt in 1924 and was bought by Dorothea, Lady Charnwood, who put her son John Benson on the board. Bamford & Martin got into financial difficulty again in 1925 and Martin was forced to sell the company (Bamford had already left). Later that year, Bill Renwick, Augustus (Bert) Bertelli and investors including Lady Charnwood took control of the business. They renamed it Aston Martin Motors and moved it to the former Whitehead Aircraft Limited
Hanworth Hanworth is a district of West London, England. Historically in Middlesex, it has been part of the London Borough of Hounslow since 1965. Hanworth adjoins Feltham to the northwest, Twickenham to the northeast and Hampton to the southeast, with ...
works in
Feltham Feltham () is a town in West London, England, from Charing Cross. Historically part of Middlesex, it became part of the London Borough of Hounslow in 1965. The parliamentary constituency of Feltham and Heston has been held by Labour Party ...
. Renwick and Bertelli had been in partnership some years and had developed an overhead-cam four-cylinder engine using Renwick's patented combustion chamber design, which they had tested in an
Enfield-Allday The Enfield-Allday was an English car manufactured in Sparkbrook, Birmingham, from 1919 to 1924. The marque was created from the merged ranges of Alldays & Onions and Enfield and the Enfield Autocar Co Ltd. History Prior to World War I Alldays ...
chassis. The only "Renwick and Bertelli" motor car made, it was known as "Buzzbox" and still survives. The pair had planned to sell their engine to motor manufacturers, but having heard that Aston Martin was no longer in production realised they could capitalise on its reputation to jump-start the production of a completely new car. Between 1926 and 1937 Bertelli was both technical director and designer of all new Aston Martins, since known as "Bertelli cars". They included the 1½-litre "T-type", "International", "Le Mans", "MKII" and its racing derivative, the "Ulster", and the 2-litre 15/98 and its racing derivative, the "Speed Model". Most were open two-seater sports cars bodied by Bert Bertelli's brother Enrico (Harry), with a small number of long-chassis four-seater tourers, dropheads and saloons also produced. Bertelli was a competent driver keen to race his cars, one of few owner/manufacturer/drivers. The "LM" team cars were very successful in national and international motor racing including at Le Mans. Financial problems reappeared in 1932. Aston Martin was rescued for a year by Lance Prideaux Brune before passing it on to Sir Arthur Sutherland. In 1936, Aston Martin decided to concentrate on road cars, producing just 700 until
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
halted work. Production shifted to aircraft components during the war.


1947–1972: David Brown

In 1947, old-established (1860) privately owned
Huddersfield Huddersfield is a market town in the Kirklees district in West Yorkshire, England. It is the administrative centre and largest settlement in the Kirklees district. The town is in the foothills of the Pennines. The River Holme's confluence into ...
gear A gear is a rotating circular machine part having cut teeth or, in the case of a cogwheel or gearwheel, inserted teeth (called ''cogs''), which mesh with another (compatible) toothed part to transmit (convert) torque and speed. The basic ...
and machine tools manufacturer David Brown Limited bought Aston Martin putting it under control of its Tractor Group. David Brown became Aston Martin's latest saviour. He also acquired without its factory
Lagonda Lagonda is a British luxury car brand established in 1906, which has been owned by Aston Martin since 1947. The trade-name has not had a continuous commercial existence, being dormant several times, most recently from 1995 to 2008 and 2010 to 2 ...
's business for its 2.6-litre
W. O. Bentley Walter Owen Bentley, MBE (16 September 1888 – 13 August 1971) was an English engineer who founded Bentley Motors Limited in London. He was a motorcycle and car racer as a young man. After making a name for himself as a designer of aircraft a ...
-designed engine. Lagonda moved operations to Newport Pagnell and shared engines, resources and workshops. Aston Martin began to build the classic "DB" series of cars. In April 1950, they announced planned production of their Le Mans prototype to be called the DB2, followed by the DB2/4 in 1953, the DB2/4 MkII in 1955, the DB Mark III in 1957 and the Italian-styled 3.7 L DB4 in 1958. While these models helped Aston Martin establish a good racing pedigree, the DB4 stood out and yielded the famous DB5 in 1963. Aston stayed true to its
grand touring A grand tourer (GT) is a type of car that is designed for high speed and long-distance driving, due to a combination of performance and luxury attributes. The most common format is a front-engine, rear-wheel-drive two-door coupé with either ...
style with the DB6 (1965–70), and DBS (1967–1972). The six-cylinder engines of these cars from 1954 up to 1965 were designed by
Tadek Marek Tadeusz "Tadek" Marek (1908–1982) was a Polish automobile engineer, known for his Aston Martin engines. Marek was from Kraków and studied engineering at Technische Universität Berlin before working for Fiat in Poland and also for General Mo ...
.


1972–1975: William Willson

Aston Martin was often financially troubled. In 1972, David Brown paid off all its debts, said to be £5 million or more, and handed it for £101 to Company Developments, a
Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...
-based investment bank consortium chaired by accountant William Willson. More detail on this period may be read at Willson's biography. The worldwide recession, lack of
working capital Working capital (WC) is a financial metric which represents operating liquidity available to a business, organisation, or other entity, including governmental entities. Along with fixed assets such as plant and equipment, working capital is consi ...
and the difficulties of developing an engine to meet California's exhaust emission requirements – it stopped the company's US sales – again pulled Aston Martin into receivership at the end of 1974. The company had employed 460 workers when the manufacturing plant closed.Receiver is called in at Jensen Motors. ''The Times'', Tuesday, 16 September 1975; pg. 17; Issue 59502


1975–1981: Sprague and Curtis

The receiver sold the business in April 1975 for £1.05 million to North American businessmen Peter Sprague of
National Semiconductor National Semiconductor was an American semiconductor manufacturer which specialized in analog devices and subsystems, formerly with headquarters in Santa Clara, California. The company produced power management integrated circuits, display dr ...
, Toronto hotelier George Minden, and Jeremy Turner, a London businessman, who insisted to reporters Aston Martin remained a British controlled business. Sprague later claimed he had fallen in love with the factory, not the cars, the workforce's craftsmanship dedication and intelligence. At this point, he and Minden had brought in investor, Alan Curtis, a British office property developer together with George Flather, a retired Sheffield steel magnate.Lagonda sets out on a new course. ''The Times'', Monday, 24 April 1978; pg. 18; Issue 60284 Six months later, in September 1975, the factory – shut-down the previous December – re-opened under its new owner as Aston Martin Lagonda Limited with 100 employees and plans to lift staff to 250 by the end of 1975. In January 1976, AML revealed that it now held orders for 150 cars for the US, 100 for other markets and another 80 from a Japanese importing agency. At the
Geneva Motor Show The Geneva International Motor Show is an annual auto show held in March in the Swiss city of Geneva. The show is hosted at the Palexpo, a convention centre located next to the Geneva Cointrin International Airport. The Salon is organised by th ...
, Fred Hartley, managing director and sales director for 13 years before that, announced he had resigned over "differences in marketing policy". The new owners pushed Aston Martin into modernising its line, introducing the V8 Vantage in 1977, the convertible Volante in 1978, and the one-off
Bulldog The Bulldog is a British breed of dog of mastiff type. It may also be known as the English Bulldog or British Bulldog. It is of medium size, a muscular, hefty dog with a wrinkled face and a distinctive pushed-in nose.William Towns William Towns (1936–1993) also known as Bill Towns was a British car designer. Design career Towns began his training as a designer at Rootes in 1954, where he was mainly involved in the styling of seats and door handles. Later he was also i ...
in 1980. Towns also styled the futuristic new
Lagonda Lagonda is a British luxury car brand established in 1906, which has been owned by Aston Martin since 1947. The trade-name has not had a continuous commercial existence, being dormant several times, most recently from 1995 to 2008 and 2010 to 2 ...
saloon, based on the V8 model. Curtis, who had a 42% stake in Aston Martin, also brought about a change in direction from the usual customers who were Aston Martin fanatics (fans) to successful young married businessmen. Prices had been increased by 25%. There was speculation that AML was about to buy Italian automobile manufacturer Lamborghini. At the end of the 1970s, there was widespread debate about running MG into the Aston Martin consortium. 85 Tory MPs formed themselves into a pressure group to get British Leyland to release their grip and hand it over. CH Industrials plc (car components) bought a 10% share in AML. But in July 1980, blaming a recession, AML cut back their workforce of 450 by more than 20% making those people redundant.


1981–1987: Victor Gauntlett

In January 1981, there having been no satisfactory revival partners, Alan Curtis and Peter Sprague announced they had never intended to maintain a long-term financial stake in Aston Martin Lagonda and it was to be sold to Pace Petroleum's
Victor Gauntlett Malcolm Victor Gauntlett (20 May 1942 – 31 March 2003) was an English petrochemical entrepreneur and car enthusiast, best known for forming the largest independent petrol retail business in the United Kingdom, and for reviving Aston Martin. B ...
. Sprague and Curtis pointed out that under their ownership AML finances had improved to where an offer for MG might have been feasible. Gauntlett bought a 12.5% stake in Aston Martin for £500,000 via Pace Petroleum in 1980, with Tim Hearley of CH Industrials taking a similar share. Pace and CHI took over as joint 50/50 owners at the beginning of 1981, with Gauntlett as executive chairman. Gauntlett also led the sales team, and after some development and publicity when the
Lagonda Lagonda is a British luxury car brand established in 1906, which has been owned by Aston Martin since 1947. The trade-name has not had a continuous commercial existence, being dormant several times, most recently from 1995 to 2008 and 2010 to 2 ...
became the world's fastest four-seater production car, was able to sell the car in Oman, Kuwait, and Qatar. In 1982, Aston Martin was granted a
Royal Warrant of Appointment Royal warrants of appointment have been issued for centuries to tradespeople who supply goods or services to a royal court or certain royal personages. The royal warrant enables the supplier to advertise the fact that they supply to the issuer of ...
by the
Prince of Wales Prince of Wales ( cy, Tywysog Cymru, ; la, Princeps Cambriae/Walliae) is a title traditionally given to the heir apparent to the English and later British throne. Prior to the conquest by Edward I in the 13th century, it was used by the rulers ...
. Understanding that it would take some time to develop new Aston Martin products, they created an engineering service subsidiary to develop automotive products for other companies. It was decided to use a trade name of Salmons & Son, their in-house coachbuilder,
Tickford Tickford is an automobile engineering and testing business in Newport Pagnell, Buckinghamshire, known for tuning and such products as the 140 mph Tickford Turbo Capri. Under the name Salmons & Sons and their Tickford products the firm has ...
, which Aston Martin had bought in 1955. Tickford's name had been long associated with expensive high-quality carriages and cars along with their folding roofs. New products included a Tickford
Austin Metro The Metro is a supermini car, later a city car that was produced by British Leyland (BL) and, later, the Rover Group from 1980 to 1998. It was launched in 1980 as the Austin mini Metro. It was intended to complement and eventually replace the ...
, a Tickford Ford Capri and even Tickford train interiors, particularly on the
Jaguar XJS The Jaguar XJ-S (later called XJS) is a luxury grand tourer manufactured and marketed by British car manufacturer Jaguar Cars from 1975 to 1996, in coupé, fixed-profile and full convertible bodystyles. There were three distinct iterations, w ...
. Pace continued sponsoring racing events, and now sponsored all Aston Martin Owners Club events, taking a Tickford-engined Nimrod Group C car owned by AMOC President
Viscount Downe Viscount Downe is a title that has been created twice in the Peerage of Ireland. The first creation came in 1675 for William Ducie. However, the title became extinct on his death in 1679. The second creation came in 1680 for John Dawnay. He h ...
, which came third in the Manufacturers Championship in both 1982 and 1983. It also finished seventh in the 1982 24 Hours of Le Mans race. However, sales of production cars were now at an all-time low of 30 cars produced in 1982. As trading became tighter in the petroleum market, and Aston Martin was requiring more time and money, Gauntlett agreed to sell Hays/Pace to the Kuwait Investment Office in September 1983. As Aston Martin required greater investment, he also agreed to sell his share holding to American importer and Greek shipping tycoon
Peter Livanos Peter G. Livanos (born 1958), is a Greek shipping tycoon. He owns the Greek shipping company Ceres Hellenic Shipping Enterprises, Ceres Hellenic, and was involved in the restructuring of the shipping company into the group Ceres Hellenic. Livanos ...
, who invested via his joint venture with Nick and John Papanicolaou, ALL Inc. Gauntlett remained chairman of AML, 55% of the stake was owned by ALL, with Tickford a 50/50 venture between ALL and CHI. The uneasy relationship was ended when ALL exercised options to buy a larger share in AML; CHI's residual shares were exchanged for CHI's complete ownership of Tickford, which retained the development of existing Aston Martin projects. In 1984, Papanicolaou's Titan shipping business was in trouble so Livanos's father George bought out the Papanicolaou's shares in ALL, while Gauntlett again became a shareholder with a 25% holding in AML. The deal valued Aston Martin/AML at £2 million, the year it built its 10,000th car. Although as a result Aston Martin had to make 60 members of the workforce redundant, Gauntlett bought a stake in Italian styling house
Zagato Zagato is an independent coachbuilding company and total design centre located northwest of Milan in Terrazzano, a small village near Rho, Lombardy, Italy. The company's premises occupies an area of 23,000 square metres (250,000 sq ft)- 11,000 ...
, and resurrected its collaboration with Aston Martin. In 1986, Gauntlett negotiated the return of the fictional British secret agent
James Bond The ''James Bond'' series focuses on a fictional British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short-story collections. Since Fleming's death in 1964, eight other authors have ...
to Aston Martin.
Cubby Broccoli Albert Romolo Broccoli ( ; April 5, 1909 – June 27, 1996), nicknamed "Cubby", was an American film producer who made more than 40 motion pictures throughout his career. Most of the films were made in the United Kingdom and often filmed at Pi ...
had chosen to recast the character using actor
Timothy Dalton Timothy Leonard Dalton Leggett (; born 21 March 1946) is a British actor. Beginning his career on stage, he made his film debut as Philip II of France in the 1968 historical drama ''The Lion in Winter''. He gained international prominence as ...
, in an attempt to re-root the Bond-brand back to a more Sean Connery-like feel. Gauntlett supplied his personal pre-production Vantage for use in the filming of ''
The Living Daylights ''The Living Daylights'' is a 1987 spy film, the fifteenth entry in the ''James Bond'' series produced by Eon Productions, and the first of two to star Timothy Dalton as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. Directed by John Glen, the film's ...
'', and sold a Volante to Broccoli for use at his home in America. Gauntlett turned down the role of a
KGB The KGB (russian: links=no, lit=Committee for State Security, Комитет государственной безопасности (КГБ), a=ru-KGB.ogg, p=kəmʲɪˈtʲet ɡəsʊˈdarstvʲɪn(ː)əj bʲɪzɐˈpasnəsʲtʲɪ, Komitet gosud ...
colonel in the film, however: "I would have loved to have done it but really could not afford the time."


1987–2007: Ford Motor Company

As Aston Martin needed funds to survive in the long term,
Ford Ford commonly refers to: * Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford * Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river Ford may also refer to: Ford Motor Company * Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company * Ford F ...
bought a 75% stake in the company in 1987, and bought the rest later. In May of that year, Victor Gauntlett and
Prince Michael of Kent Prince Michael of Kent, (Michael George Charles Franklin; born 4 July 1942) is a member of the British royal family, who is 51st in the line of succession to the British throne as of September 2022. Queen Elizabeth II and Michael were firs ...
were staying at the home of Contessa Maggi, the wife of the founder of the original
Mille Miglia The Mille Miglia (, ''Thousand Miles'') was an open-road, motorsport endurance race established in 1927 by the young Counts Francesco Mazzotti and Aymo Maggi, which took place in Italy twenty-four times from 1927 to 1957 (thirteen before World ...
, while watching the revival event. Another house guest was
Walter Hayes Walter Leopold Arthur Hayes (12 April 1924 – 26 December 2000) was an English journalist, and later public relations executive for Ford. Hayes was key in developing Ford's Formula One program, by signing Jackie Stewart and funding the bui ...
, vice-president of
Ford of Europe Ford of Europe GmbH is a subsidiary company of Ford Motor Company founded in 1967 in Cork (city), Cork, Republic of Ireland, Ireland, with headquarters in Cologne, Germany. History Ford of Europe was founded in 1967 by the merger of Ford of Bri ...
. Despite problems over the previous acquisition of
AC Cars AC Cars, originally incorporated as Auto Carriers Ltd., is a British specialist automobile manufacturer and one of the oldest independent car makers founded in Britain. As a result of bad financial conditions over the years, the company was re ...
, Hayes saw the potential of the brand and the discussion resulted in
Ford Ford commonly refers to: * Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford * Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river Ford may also refer to: Ford Motor Company * Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company * Ford F ...
taking a share holding in September 1987. In 1988, having produced some 5,000 cars in 20 years, a revived economy and successful sales of limited edition Vantage, and 52 Volante Zagato coupés at £86,000 each; Aston Martin finally retired the ancient V8 and introduced the Virage range. Although Gauntlett was contractually to stay as chairman for two years, his racing interests took the company back into sports car racing in 1989 with limited European success. However, with engine rule changes for the 1990 season and the launch of the new Volante model, Ford provided the limited supply of
Cosworth Cosworth is a British automotive engineering company founded in London in 1958, specialising in high-performance internal combustion engines, powertrain, and electronics for automobile racing (motorsport) and mainstream automotive industrie ...
engines to the
Jaguar cars Jaguar (, ) is the luxury vehicle brand of Jaguar Land Rover, a British multinational car manufacturer with its headquarters in Whitley, Coventry, England. Jaguar Cars was the company that was responsible for the production of Jaguar cars ...
racing team. As the entry-level DB7 would require a large engineering input, Ford agreed to take full control of Aston Martin, and Gauntlett handed over Aston Martin's chairmanship to Hayes in 1991. In 1992, the high-performance variant of the Virage called the Vantage was announced, and the following year Aston Martin renewed the DB range by announcing the DB7. By 1993, Ford had fully acquired the company after having built a stake in 1987. Ford placed Aston Martin in the
Premier Automotive Group The Premier Automotive Group (PAG) was an organizational division within the Ford Motor Company formed in 1999 to oversee the business operations of Ford's high-end automotive marques. The PAG was gradually dismantled from 2006 to 2011 with the ...
, invested in new manufacturing and ramped up production. In 1994, Ford opened a new factory at Banbury Road in
Bloxham Bloxham is a village and civil parish in northern Oxfordshire several miles from the Cotswolds, about southwest of Banbury. It is on the edge of a valley and overlooked by Hobb Hill. The village is on the A361 road. The 2011 Census recorded ...
to manufacture the DB7. In 1995, Aston Martin produced a record 700 cars. Until the Ford era, cars had been produced by hand coachbuilding craft methods, such as the
English wheel The English wheel, in Britain also known as a wheeling machine, is a metalworking tool that enables a craftsperson to form compound (double curvature) curves from flat sheets of metal such as aluminium or steel.Parker, Dana T. ''Building Victory: ...
. During the mid 1990s, the Special Projects Group, a secretive unit with Works Service at Newport Pagnell, created an array of special coach-built vehicles for the Brunei royal family. In 1998, the 2,000th DB7 was built, and in 2002, the 6,000th, exceeding production of all of the previous DB series models. The DB7 range was revamped by the addition of more powerful V12 Vantage models in 1999, and in 2001, Aston Martin introduced the V12-engined flagship model called the Vanquish which succeeded the aging Virage (now called the V8 Coupé). At the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, Michigan in 2003, Aston Martin introduced the V8 Vantage concept car. Expected to have few changes before its introduction in 2005, the Vantage brought back the classic V8 engine to allow Aston Martin to compete in a larger market. 2003 also saw the opening of the
Gaydon Gaydon is a civil parish and village in Warwickshire, England, situated between Leamington Spa and Banbury. In the 2001 census, the parish had a population of 376, increasing to 446 at the 2011 Census. The village is at the junction of the ...
factory, the first purpose-built factory in Aston Martin's history. The facility is situated on a 22-hectare (55-acre) site of a former
RAF The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...
V Bomber The "V bombers" were the Royal Air Force (RAF) aircraft during the 1950s and 1960s that comprised the United Kingdom's strategic nuclear strike force known officially as the V force or Bomber Command Main Force. The three models of strategic ...
airbase, with an front building for offices, meeting rooms and customer reception, and a production building. Also introduced in 2003 was the DB9 coupé, which replaced the ten-year-old DB7. A
convertible A convertible or cabriolet () is a passenger car that can be driven with or without a roof in place. The methods of retracting and storing the roof vary among eras and manufacturers. A convertible car's design allows an open-air driving expe ...
version of the DB9, the DB9 Volante, was introduced at the 2004
Detroit auto show The North American International Auto Show (NAIAS), also known as the Detroit Auto Show as of 2022 and prior to NAIAS, is an annual auto show held in Detroit, Michigan, U.S., at Huntington Place. The show was held in January from 1989 to 2019. ...
. In October 2004, Aston Martin set up the dedicated Aston Martin Engine Plant (AMEP) within the
Ford Germany Ford-Werke GmbH is a German car manufacturer headquartered in Niehl, Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia. It is a subsidiary of Ford Motor Company, which operates two large manufacturing facilities in Germany, a plant in Cologne and a plant in Saar ...
Niehl, Cologne Niehl is a ''Stadtteil'' (quarter) of the city of Cologne, Germany. Situated north of the city centre, on the left bank of the Rhine, it is part of the district of Nippes Nippes ( French) or Nip ( Haitian Creole) is one of the ten departments ...
plant. With the capacity to produce up to 5,000 engines a year by 100 specially trained personnel, like traditional Aston Martin engine production from Newport Pagnell, assembly of each unit was entrusted to a single technician from a pool of 30, with V8 and V12 variants assembled in under 20 hours. By bringing engine production back to within Aston Martin, the promise was that Aston Martin would be able to produce small runs of higher performance variants' engines. This expanded engine capacity allowed the entry-level V8 Vantage sports car to enter production at the Gaydon factory in 2006, joining the DB9 and DB9 Volante. In December 2003, Aston Martin announced it would return to motor racing in 2005. A new division was created, called
Aston Martin Racing Aston Martin Racing is a British auto racing team established in 2004 as a partnership between automobile manufacturer Aston Martin and engineering group Prodrive. The partnership was initially created for the purpose of returning Asto ...
, which became responsible, together with
Prodrive Prodrive is a British motorsport and advanced engineering group based in Banbury, Oxfordshire, England. It designs, constructs and races cars for companies and teams such as Aston Martin, Bahrain Raid Xtreme and Team X44. Its advanced technolo ...
, for the design, development, and management of the DBR9 program. The DBR9 competes in the GT class in
sports car races Sport pertains to any form of competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to spectators. Sports can, ...
, including the world-famous
24 Hours of Le Mans The 24 Hours of Le Mans (french: link=no, 24 Heures du Mans) is an endurance-focused Sports car racing, sports car race held annually near the town of Le Mans, France. It is the world's oldest active Endurance racing (motorsport), endurance r ...
. In 2006, an internal audit led Ford to consider divesting itself of parts of its
Premier Automotive Group The Premier Automotive Group (PAG) was an organizational division within the Ford Motor Company formed in 1999 to oversee the business operations of Ford's high-end automotive marques. The PAG was gradually dismantled from 2006 to 2011 with the ...
. After suggestions of selling
Jaguar Cars Jaguar (, ) is the luxury vehicle brand of Jaguar Land Rover, a British multinational car manufacturer with its headquarters in Whitley, Coventry, England. Jaguar Cars was the company that was responsible for the production of Jaguar cars ...
,
Land Rover Land Rover is a British brand of predominantly four-wheel drive, off-road capable vehicles, owned by multinational car manufacturer Jaguar Land Rover (JLR), since 2008 a subsidiary of India's Tata Motors. JLR currently builds Land Rovers ...
, or
Volvo Cars Volvo Cars ( sv, Volvo personvagnar, styled VOLVO in the company's logo) is a Swedish multinational manufacturer of luxury vehicles headquartered in Torslanda, Gothenburg. The company manufactures SUVs, station wagons, and sedans. The company ...
were weighed, Ford announced in August 2006 it had engaged
UBS AG UBS Group AG is a multinational investment bank and financial services company founded and based in Switzerland. Co-headquartered in the cities of Zürich and Basel, it maintains a presence in all major financial centres as the largest Swis ...
to sell all or part of Aston Martin at auction.


2007–2018: Private Limited Company

On 12 March 2007, a consortium led by
Prodrive Prodrive is a British motorsport and advanced engineering group based in Banbury, Oxfordshire, England. It designs, constructs and races cars for companies and teams such as Aston Martin, Bahrain Raid Xtreme and Team X44. Its advanced technolo ...
chairman David Richards purchased Aston Martin for £475 million (US$848 million). The group included American investment banker John Sinders and two Kuwaiti companies namely Investment Dar and Adeem Investment. Prodrive had no financial involvement in the deal. Ford kept a stake in Aston Martin valued at £40 million (US$70 million). To demonstrate the V8 Vantage's durability across hazardous terrain and promote the car in China, the first east–west crossing of the
Asian Highway The Asian Highway Network (AH), also known as the Great Asian Highway, is a cooperative project among countries in Asia and the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) to improve their connectivity via h ...
was undertaken between June and August 2007. A pair of Britons drove from Tokyo to
Istanbul Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...
before joining the European motorway network for another to London. The promotion was so successful Aston Martin opened dealerships in Shanghai and Beijing within three months. 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 and became the home of the Aston Martin Works classic car department which focuses on heritage sales, service, spares and restoration operations. UK production is now concentrated on the 22-hectare (55-acre) facility in
Gaydon Gaydon is a civil parish and village in Warwickshire, England, situated between Leamington Spa and Banbury. In the 2001 census, the parish had a population of 376, increasing to 446 at the 2011 Census. The village is at the junction of the ...
on the former
RAF The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...
V Bomber The "V bombers" were the Royal Air Force (RAF) aircraft during the 1950s and 1960s that comprised the United Kingdom's strategic nuclear strike force known officially as the V force or Bomber Command Main Force. The three models of strategic ...
airbase. In March 2008, Aston Martin announced a partnership with
Magna Steyr Magna Steyr AG & Co KG is an automobile manufacturer based in Graz, Austria, where its primary manufacturing plant is also located. It is a subsidiary of Canadian-based Magna International and was previously part of the Steyr-Daimler-Puch cong ...
to outsource manufacture of over 2,000 cars annually to Graz, Austria, reassuringly stating: "The continuing growth and success of Aston Martin is based upon Gaydon as the focal point and heart of the business, with the design and engineering of all Aston Martin products continuing to be carried out there." More dealers in Europe and the new pair in China brought the total to 120 in 28 countries. On 1 September 2008, Aston Martin announced the revival of the
Lagonda Lagonda is a British luxury car brand established in 1906, which has been owned by Aston Martin since 1947. The trade-name has not had a continuous commercial existence, being dormant several times, most recently from 1995 to 2008 and 2010 to 2 ...
marque, proposing a concept car to be shown in 2009 to coincide with the brand's 100th anniversary. The first production cars were slated for production in 2012. In December 2008, Aston Martin announced it would cut its workforce from 1,850 to 1,250 due to the economic recession. The first four-door Rapide grand tourers rolled out of the
Magna Steyr Magna Steyr AG & Co KG is an automobile manufacturer based in Graz, Austria, where its primary manufacturing plant is also located. It is a subsidiary of Canadian-based Magna International and was previously part of the Steyr-Daimler-Puch cong ...
factory in
Graz Graz (; sl, Gradec) is the capital city of the Austrian state of Styria and second-largest city in Austria after Vienna. As of 1 January 2021, it had a population of 331,562 (294,236 of whom had principal-residence status). In 2018, the popul ...
, Austria in 2010. The contract manufacturer provides dedicated facilities to ensure compliance with the exacting standards of Aston Martin and other marques, including
Mercedes-Benz Mercedes-Benz (), commonly referred to as Mercedes and sometimes as Benz, is a German luxury and commercial vehicle automotive brand established in 1926. Mercedes-Benz AG (a Mercedes-Benz Group subsidiary established in 2019) is headquartere ...
. Then CEO of the company, Dr. Ulrich Bez had publicly speculated about outsourcing all of Aston Martin's operations with the exception of marketing. In September 2011, it was announced that production of the Rapide would be returned to Gaydon in the second half of 2012, restoring all of the company's automobile manufacture there. Italian private equity fund
Investindustrial Investindustrial is a global private equity firm focused on buyouts of mid-market companies in Europe and selectively in North America. It was founded in 1990 by Andrea Campanini Bonomi out of an industrial conglomerate. History Founded in 1 ...
signed a deal on 6 December 2012 to buy a 37.5% stake in Aston Martin, investing £150 million as a capital increase. This was confirmed by Aston Martin in a press release on 7 December 2012. David Richards left Aston Martin in 2013, returning to concentrate on Prodrive. In April 2013, it was reported that Dr. Ulrich Bez would be leaving his role as the chief executive officer to take up a more ambassadorial position. On 2 September 2014, Aston Martin announced it had appointed the
Nissan , trade name, trading as Nissan Motor Corporation and often shortened to Nissan, is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automobile manufacturer headquartered in Nishi-ku, Yokohama, Japan. The company sells ...
executive Andy Palmer as the new CEO with Ulrich Bez retaining a position as non-executive chairman. As sales had been declining from 2015, Aston Martin sought new customers (particularly wealthy female buyers) with introducing concept cars like the DBX SUV along with track focused cars like the
Vulcan Vulcan may refer to: Mythology * Vulcan (mythology), the god of fire, volcanoes, metalworking, and the forge in Roman mythology Arts, entertainment and media Film and television * Vulcan (''Star Trek''), name of a fictional race and their home p ...
. According to Palmer, the troubles started when sales of the DB9 failed to generate sufficient fund to develop next-generation models which led to a downward spiral of declining sales and profitability. Palmer outlined that the company plans to develop two new platforms, add a crossover, refresh its supercar lineup and leverage its technology alliance with Daimler as part of its six-year plan to make the 100-year-old British brand consistently profitable. He stated, "In the first century we went bankrupt seven times. The second century is about making sure that is not the case." In preparation for its next-generation of sports cars, the company invested £20 million ($33.4 million) to expand its manufacturing plant in Gaydon. The expansion at the Gaydon plant includes a new chassis and pilot build facility, as well as an extension of the parts and logistics storage area, and new offices. In total, Aston Martin will add approximately to the plant. In 2014, Aston Martin suffered a pre-tax loss of £72 million, almost triple of the amount of 2013 selling 3,500 cars during the year, well below the 7,300 cars sold in 2007 and 4,200 sold in 2013 respectively. In March 2014, Aston Martin issued "payment in kind" notes of US$165 million, at 10.25% interest, in addition to the £304 million of senior secured notes at 9.25% issued in 2011. Aston Martin also had to secure an additional investment of £200 million from its shareholders to fund development of new models. It was reported that Aston Martin's pre-tax losses for 2016 increased by 27% to £162.8 million, the sixth year it continued to suffer a loss. In 2016, the company selected a 36-hectare (90-acre) site in
St Athan St Athan ( cy, Sain Tathan) is a village and community (Wales), community in the Vale of Glamorgan in South Wales. The village and its parish church are dedicated to Saint Tathan. The church dates to the 13th–14th century, though an earlier ch ...
,
South Wales South Wales ( cy, De Cymru) is a loosely defined region of Wales bordered by England to the east and mid Wales to the north. Generally considered to include the historic counties of Glamorgan and Monmouthshire, south Wales extends westwards ...
for its new factory. The Welsh facility was unanimously chosen by Aston's board despite fierce competition from other locations as far afield as the Americas, Eastern Europe, the Middle East, Europe, as well as two other sites in the UK, believed to be
Bridgend Bridgend (; cy, Pen-y-bont ar Ogwr or just , meaning "the end of the bridge on the Ogmore") is a town in Bridgend County Borough in Wales, west of Cardiff and east of Swansea. The town is named after the Old Bridge, Bridgend, medieval bridge ...
and
Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...
. The facility featured three existing ‘super-hangars’ of
MOD St Athan Ministry of Defence St Athan or MOD St Athan (Welsh: Maes awyr Sain Tathan), formerly known as RAF St Athan, is a large Ministry of Defence unit near the village of St Athan in the Vale of Glamorgan, southern Wales. It was the designated site for ...
. Construction work of converting the hangars commenced in April 2017. Aston Martin returned to profit in 2017 after selling over 5,000 cars. The company made a pre-tax profit of £87 million compared with a £163 million loss in 2016. 2017 also marked the return of production of the Newport Pagnell facility ten years after it originally ceased.


2013–present: Partnership with Mercedes-Benz Group

In December 2013, Aston Martin signed a deal with
Mercedes-Benz Group The Mercedes-Benz Group AG (previously named Daimler-Benz, DaimlerChrysler and Daimler) is a German multinational automotive corporation headquartered in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is one of the world's leading car manufacture ...
(at the time known as Daimler) to supply the next generation of Aston Martin cars with
Mercedes-AMG Mercedes-AMG GmbH, commonly known as AMG, is the high-performance subsidiary of Mercedes-Benz AG. AMG independently hires engineers and contracts with manufacturers to customize Mercedes-Benz AMG vehicles. The company has its headquarters in A ...
engines. Mercedes-AMG also was to supply Aston Martin with electrical systems. This technical partnership was intended to support Aston Martin's launch of a new generation of models that would incorporate new technology and engines. In exchange, Mercedes will get as much as 5% equity in Aston Martin and a non-voting seat on its board. The first model to sport the Mercedes-Benz technology was the DB11, announced at the 86th
Geneva Motor Show The Geneva International Motor Show is an annual auto show held in March in the Swiss city of Geneva. The show is hosted at the Palexpo, a convention centre located next to the Geneva Cointrin International Airport. The Salon is organised by th ...
in March 2016. It featured Mercedes-Benz electronics for the entertainment, navigation and other systems. It was also the first model to use Mercedes-AMG V8 engines. In October 2020, Mercedes confirmed it will increase its holding "in stages" from 5% to 20%. In return, Aston Martin will have access to Mercedes-Benz hybrid and electric drivetrain technologies for its future models.


2018–present: Listed on the London Stock Exchange

After "completing a turnaround for the once perennially loss-making company that could now be valued at up to 5 billion pounds ($6.4 billion)," and now reporting a full-year pre-tax profit of £87 million (compared with a £163 million loss in 2016) Aston Martin in August 2018 announced plans to float the company at the London Stock Exchange as Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings plc. The company was the subject of an
initial public offering An initial public offering (IPO) or stock launch is a public offering in which shares of a company are sold to institutional investors and usually also to retail (individual) investors. An IPO is typically underwritten by one or more investment ...
on the London Stock Exchange on 3 October 2018. In the same year, Aston Martin opened a new vehicle dynamics test and development centre at Silverstone's Stowe Circuit alongside a new HQ in London. In June 2019, the company opened its new 36-hectare (90-acre) factory in
St Athan St Athan ( cy, Sain Tathan) is a village and community (Wales), community in the Vale of Glamorgan in South Wales. The village and its parish church are dedicated to Saint Tathan. The church dates to the 13th–14th century, though an earlier ch ...
for the production of its first-ever SUV the DBX. The factory was finally completed and officially opened on 6 December 2019. When full production begins in the second quarter of 2020, around 600 people will be employed at the factory, rising to 750 when peak production is reached. On 31 January 2020 it was announced that Canadian billionaire and investor
Lawrence Stroll Lawrence Sheldon Strulović (name later anglicized to Strulovitch) (born 11 July 1959), best known as Lawrence Stroll, is a Canadian billionaire businessman, part-owner and executive chairman of Aston Martin, and the owner of the Aston Martin F1 ...
was leading a consortium, Yew Tree Overseas Limited, who will pay £182 million in return for 16.7% stake in the company. The re-structuring includes a £318 million cash infusion through a new rights issue, generating a total of £500 million for the company. Stroll will also be named as chairman, replacing
Penny Hughes Penny Hughes CBE (born 1959) is a British businesswoman, and the chair of IQ Student Accommodation. She is the former chair of Aston Martin and The Gym Group. Early life Hughes was born in West Kirby, the youngest of three daughters in a mi ...
. Swiss pharmaceutical magnate
Ernesto Bertarelli Ernesto Silvio Maurizio Bertarelli (born 22 September 1965) is an Italian-born Swiss billionaire businessman and philanthropist. The 2017 edition of the Sunday Times Rich List estimated the family's wealth at £11.5 billion, an increase of £1 ...
and
Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport Mercedes-Benz, a brand of the Mercedes-Benz Group, has been involved in Formula One as both team owner and engine manufacturer for various periods since 1954. The Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team, which is based in Brackley, England, and possesses ...
team principal and CEO
Toto Wolff Torger Christian "Toto" Wolff (, born 12 January 1972) is an Austrian billionaire motorsport executive, investor, and former racing driver. He holds a 33% stake in the Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team and is Team Principal and CEO of the team. Wo ...
have also joined the consortium, acquiring 3.4% and 4.8% stakes, respectively. In March 2020, Stroll increased his stake in the company to 25%. On 26 May 2020, Aston Martin announced that Andy Palmer had stepped down as CEO.
Tobias Moers Tobias Moers (born May 1966) is a German businessman, and was the chief executive (CEO) of Aston Martin from August 2020 to May 2022. Moers was born in May 1966 in Freiburg. He studied mechanical engineering at the University of Applied Sciences ...
of
Mercedes-AMG Mercedes-AMG GmbH, commonly known as AMG, is the high-performance subsidiary of Mercedes-Benz AG. AMG independently hires engineers and contracts with manufacturers to customize Mercedes-Benz AMG vehicles. The company has its headquarters in A ...
will succeed him starting 1 August, with Keith Stanton as interim chief operating officer. In June 2020, the company announced that it cut out 500 jobs as a result of the poor sales, an outcome of the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
lockdown. In March 2021, executive chairman Lawrence Stroll stated that the company plans on building electric vehicles by 2025. In May 2022, Aston Martin named 76-year old Amedeo Felisa as the new chief executive officer, replacing Tobias Moers. Roberto Fedeli was also announced as the new chief technical officer. In July 2022,
Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the A ...
's Public Investment Fund (PIF) will take a stake in the company through a £78 million equity placing as well as a £575 million separate rights issue, giving it two board seats in the company. After the rights issue, the Saudi fund will have a 16.7% stake in Aston Martin, behind the 18.3% holding by Stroll's Yew Tree Consortium while the Mercedes-Benz Group will own 9.7%. In September 2022, Chinese automaker
Geely Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Co., Ltd (ZGH), commonly known as Geely (吉利 "auspicious"), is a Chinese multinational automotive company headquartered in Hangzhou, Zhejiang. The company is privately held by Chinese billionaire entrepreneu ...
acquired a 7.6% stake in the company.


Notable events

In August 2017, a 1956
Aston Martin DBR1 The Aston Martin DBR1 was a sports racing car built by Aston Martin starting in 1956, intended for the World Sportscar Championship as well as non-championship sportscar races at the time. It is most famous as the victor of the 1959 24 Hours of ...
/1 sold at a
Sotheby's Sotheby's () is a British-founded American multinational corporation with headquarters in New York City. It is one of the world's largest brokers of fine and decorative art, jewellery, and collectibles. It has 80 locations in 40 countries, and ...
auction at the
Pebble Beach, California Pebble Beach is an unincorporated community on the Monterey Peninsula in Monterey County, California. The small coastal residential community of mostly single-family homes is also notable as a resort destination, and the home of the golf cou ...
Concours d'Elegance ''Concours d'Elegance'' ( French: ''concours d'élégance'') is a term of French origin that means a "competition of elegance" and refers to an event where prestigious vehicles are displayed and judged. It dates back to 17th-century France, whe ...
for US$22,550,000, which made it the most expensive British car ever sold at an auction, according to Sotheby's. The car was previously driven by
Carroll Shelby Carroll Hall Shelby (January 11, 1923 – May 10, 2012) was an American automotive designer, racing driver, and entrepreneur. Shelby is best known for his involvement with the AC Cobra and Mustang for Ford Motor Company, which he modified duri ...
and Stirling Moss. Other notable Aston Martin models sold at an auction include a 1962 Aston Martin DB4 GT Zagato for US$14,300,000 in New York in 2015, and a 1963 Aston Martin DP215 for US$21,455,000 in August 2018.


Models


Pre-war cars

* 1921–1925 Aston Martin Standard Sports * 1927–1932 Aston Martin First Series * 1929–1932 Aston Martin International * 1932–1932 Aston Martin International Le Mans * 1932–1934 Aston Martin Le Mans * 1933–1934 Aston Martin 12/50 Standard * 1934–1936 Aston Martin Mk II * 1934–1936 Aston Martin Ulster * 1936–1940 Aston Martin 2-litre Speed Models (23 built) The last 8 were fitted with C-type bodywork * 1937–1939 Aston Martin 15/98


Post-war cars

* 1948–1950
Aston Martin 2-Litre Sports The Aston Martin 2-Litre Sports was a sports car sold by Aston Martin from 1948 to 1950. It was the first product of the company under David Brown's ownership and is retrospectively known as the DB1. The car debuted at the 1948 London Motor S ...
(DB1) * 1950–1953
Aston Martin DB2 The Aston Martin DB2 is a grand tourer that was sold by Aston Martin from May 1950 until April 1953. The successor to the 2-Litre Sports model, it had a comparatively advanced dual overhead cam 2.6 L Lagonda straight-6 engine in place of ...
* 1953–1957
Aston Martin DB2/4 The Aston Martin DB2/4 is a grand tourer produced by Aston Martin from 1953 until 1957. It was available as a 2+2 hatchback saloon, drophead coupé (DHC) and 2-seat fixed-head coupé. A small number of Bertone bodied spiders were commissioned ...
* 1957–1959
Aston Martin DB Mark III The DB 2/4 Mark III (normally simply called DB Mark III, even at the time of its introduction) is a grand tourer sold by Aston Martin from 1957 until 1959. It was an evolution of the Aston Martin DB2/4, DB2/4 Mark II model it replaced, using a ...
* 1958–1963 Aston Martin DB4 * 1961–1963 Aston Martin DB4 GT Zagato * 1963–1965
Aston Martin DB5 The Aston Martin DB5 is a British grand tourer (GT) produced by Aston Martin and designed by Italian coachbuilder Carrozzeria Touring Superleggera. Originally produced from 1963 to 1965, the DB5 was an evolution of the final series of DB4. Alth ...
* 1965–1966 Aston Martin Short Chassis Volante * 1965–1969
Aston Martin DB6 The Aston Martin DB6 is a grand tourer made by British car manufacturer Aston Martin and was produced from September 1965 to January 1971. The DB6 succeeded the Aston Martin DB5 and featured improved aerodynamics and specification over its pred ...
* 1967–1972
Aston Martin DBS The Aston Martin DBS is a grand tourer produced by the British manufacturer Aston Martin Lagonda Limited from 1967 to 1972. From 2007 to 2012 the DBS name was resurrected for a new model, the Aston Martin DBS V12. DBS (1967–1972) The DBS w ...
* 1969–1989 Aston Martin V8 * 1977–1989 Aston Martin V8 Vantage * 1986–1990
Aston Martin V8 Zagato __NOTOC__ The V8 Zagato model Aston Martin was a grand tourer of the 1980s. Just 52 examples of the coupé and 37 of the convertible were built between 1986 and 1990. The coupé was first unveiled at the 1986 Geneva Motor Show, and orders were ...
* 1989–1996
Aston Martin Virage The Aston Martin Virage is an automobile produced by British luxury automobile manufacturer Aston Martin as a replacement for its V8 models. Introduced at the Birmingham Motor Show in 1988, it was joined by the high-performance Vantage in 199 ...
/Virage Volante * 1989–2000
Aston Martin Virage The Aston Martin Virage is an automobile produced by British luxury automobile manufacturer Aston Martin as a replacement for its V8 models. Introduced at the Birmingham Motor Show in 1988, it was joined by the high-performance Vantage in 199 ...
* 1993–2000
Aston Martin Vantage __NOTOC__ Aston Martin has used the Vantage name on a number of vehicles, normally indicating a high-performance version of another model. In one case, during 1972–1973, the Vantage was a distinct model, being a straight-6 powered version of ...
* 1996–2000 Aston Martin V8 Coupe/V8 Volante * 1993–2003
Aston Martin DB7 The Aston Martin DB7 is a grand tourer which was produced by British luxury automobile manufacturer Aston Martin from September 1994 to December 2004. The car was available either as a coupé or a convertible. The prototype was complete by Nov ...
/DB7 Vantage * 2001–2007
Aston Martin V12 Vanquish The Aston Martin Vanquish is a high-performance grand tourer introduced by British luxury automobile manufacturer Aston Martin in 2001 as a successor to the Aston Martin Vantage (1993). The Aston Martin "V12 Vanquish," designed by Ian Callum ...
/Vanquish S * 2002–2003
Aston Martin DB7 Zagato The Aston Martin DB7 is a grand tourer which was produced by British luxury automobile manufacturer Aston Martin from September 1994 to December 2004. The car was available either as a coupé or a convertible (car), convertible. The prototype wa ...
* 2002–2004
Aston Martin DB AR1 The Aston Martin DB7 is a grand tourer which was produced by British luxury automobile manufacturer Aston Martin from September 1994 to December 2004. The car was available either as a coupé or a convertible. The prototype was complete by Novem ...
* 2004–2016
Aston Martin DB9 The Aston Martin DB9 is a grand tourer produced by Aston Martin. Available both in coupé and a convertible bodystyles, the latter being known as the Volante, the DB9 was the successor to the DB7. It was first shown at the 2003 Frankfurt ...
* 2005–2018 Aston Martin V8 and V12 Vantage * 2007–2012
Aston Martin DBS V12 The Aston Martin DBS is a high-performance grand tourer based on the DB9 and manufactured by the British luxury automobile manufacturer Aston Martin. Aston Martin has used the DBS name once before on their 1967–72 grand tourer coupé. The ...
* 2009–2012
Aston Martin One-77 The Aston Martin One-77 is a two-door, two-seater flagship sports car built by the British car manufacturer Aston Martin. The car was first shown at the 2008 Paris Motor Show, although it remained mostly covered by a "Savile Row tailored skirt ...
* 2010–2020
Aston Martin Rapide The Aston Martin Rapide is a 4-door, 4-seater, high-performance sports saloon, which the British luxury marque Aston Martin introduced in early 2010. It was first presented as a concept car at the North American International Auto Show in 20 ...
/Rapide S * 2011–2012
Aston Martin Virage The Aston Martin Virage is an automobile produced by British luxury automobile manufacturer Aston Martin as a replacement for its V8 models. Introduced at the Birmingham Motor Show in 1988, it was joined by the high-performance Vantage in 199 ...
/Virage Volante * 2011–2013 Aston Martin Cygnet, based on the Toyota iQ * 2012–2013
Aston Martin V12 Zagato The Aston Martin V12 Zagato is a British sports car/endurance racer made by Aston Martin in collaboration with Zagato to celebrate a fifty-year partnership since the Aston Martin DB4 GT Zagato. Introduced in Lake Como, Italy at the Concorso d ...
* 2012–2018
Aston Martin Vanquish The Aston Martin Vanquish is a high-performance grand tourer introduced by British luxury automobile manufacturer Aston Martin in 2001 as a successor to the Aston Martin Vantage (1993). The Aston Martin "V12 Vanquish," designed by Ian Callum ...
/Vanquish Volante * 2015–2016 Aston Martin Vulcan * 2016–present
Aston Martin DB11 The Aston Martin DB11 is a grand tourer produced by British luxury car manufacturer Aston Martin since 2016. It debuted at the Geneva Motor Show in March 2016 as a replacement to the DB9. It is the first model launched in Aston Martin's 's ...
* 2018–present
Aston Martin Vantage __NOTOC__ Aston Martin has used the Vantage name on a number of vehicles, normally indicating a high-performance version of another model. In one case, during 1972–1973, the Vantage was a distinct model, being a straight-6 powered version of ...
* 2018–present
Aston Martin DBS Superleggera The Aston Martin DBS, formerly called the Aston Martin DBS Superleggera before the 2022 model year, is a high-performance grand tourer produced by British luxury car manufacturer Aston Martin since 2018. In June 2018, Atin unveiled the car as ...
* 2020–present
Aston Martin DBX The Aston Martin DBX is a mid-size luxury crossover SUV produced by British luxury car manufacturer Aston Martin. Production officially started on 9 July 2020. Design The DBX is the first car made at Aston Martin's new facility in St Athan, Wa ...


Other

* 1944 Aston Martin Atom (concept) * 1961–1964
Lagonda Rapide The Lagonda Rapide is a hand built full-sized luxury four-door grand tourer which was produced from 1961 until 1964. Description Based on the Aston Martin DB4, it was David Brown's attempt to revive the Lagonda marque which he had purchased ...
* 1976–1989
Aston Martin Lagonda The Aston Martin Lagonda is a full-size luxury four-door saloon manufactured by British manufacturer Aston Martin between 1974 and 1990. A total of 645 were produced. The name was derived from the Lagonda marque that Aston Martin had purchas ...
* 1980
Aston Martin Bulldog The Aston Martin Bulldog, styled by William Towns, is a British, one-off concept vehicle produced by Aston Martin in 1979. The code name for the project was DP K901. Initially, a production run of 15–25 cars was planned, but the project was ...
(concept) * 1993 Lagonda Vignale (concept) * 2001 Aston Martin Twenty Twenty (Italdesign concept) * 2007 Aston Martin V12 Vantage RS (concept) * 2007–2008 Aston Martin V8 Vantage N400 * 2009 Aston Martin Lagonda SUV (concept) * 2010 Aston Martin V12 Vantage Carbon Black Edition * 2010 Aston Martin DBS Carbon Black Edition * 2013 Aston Martin Rapide Bertone Jet 2+2 (concept) * 2013
Aston Martin CC100 The Aston Martin CC100 Speedster is a concept car produced by the British car company Aston Martin to celebrate its 100th anniversary, announced in May 2013 at the ADAC Zurich 24 Hours of Nürburgring race. Only two were produced and both were ...
Speedster (concept) * 2015
Aston Martin DB10 The Aston Martin DB10 is a bespoke grand tourer specially developed for the ''James Bond'' film ''Spectre'' by the British luxury car manufacturer Aston Martin. The car was unveiled by Sam Mendes and Barbara Broccoli, the director and produc ...
(concept) * 2015–2016
Lagonda Taraf The Lagonda Taraf is a four-door full-sized luxury car manufactured by Lagonda, a marque owned by British automobile manufacturer Aston Martin since 1947. The Arabic word "taraf" means ultimate luxury in English. Initially, Aston Martin announce ...
* 2019 Aston Martin Vanquish Vision (concept) * 2019 Aston Martin DBS GT Zagato * 2020 Aston Martin V12 Speedster * 2022 Aston Martin DBR22


Current models

*
Aston Martin DB11 The Aston Martin DB11 is a grand tourer produced by British luxury car manufacturer Aston Martin since 2016. It debuted at the Geneva Motor Show in March 2016 as a replacement to the DB9. It is the first model launched in Aston Martin's 's ...
*
Aston Martin DBS Superleggera The Aston Martin DBS, formerly called the Aston Martin DBS Superleggera before the 2022 model year, is a high-performance grand tourer produced by British luxury car manufacturer Aston Martin since 2018. In June 2018, Atin unveiled the car as ...
*
Aston Martin DBX The Aston Martin DBX is a mid-size luxury crossover SUV produced by British luxury car manufacturer Aston Martin. Production officially started on 9 July 2020. Design The DBX is the first car made at Aston Martin's new facility in St Athan, Wa ...
*
Aston Martin Vantage __NOTOC__ Aston Martin has used the Vantage name on a number of vehicles, normally indicating a high-performance version of another model. In one case, during 1972–1973, the Vantage was a distinct model, being a straight-6 powered version of ...
*
Aston Martin Valkyrie The Aston Martin Valkyrie (also known by its code-names as AM-RB 001 and Nebula) is a limited production hybrid sports car collaboratively built by British automobile manufacturers Aston Martin, Red Bull Racing Advanced Technologies and sever ...


Upcoming models

*
Aston Martin Valhalla The Aston Martin Valhalla is an upcoming mid-engined plug-in hybrid sports car developed by British manufacturer Aston Martin in collaboration with Red Bull Racing. The car is meant to sit below the flagship Valkyrie track focused sports car a ...


Gallery

File:Aston Martin International, 1500 cm³, Bj. 1930 (2008-06-28).JPG, 1930 Aston Martin1.5L International File:1933 Aston Martin Le Mans.JPG, 1932–1934 Aston Martin Le Mans short chassis File:Aston Martin 2 Litre 1950.JPG, 1948–1950 Aston Martin DB1 File:Aston Martin DB2-4 Mark I.jpg, 1950–1957 DB2 and later DB2/4 File:Aston Martin DB Mark III.jpg, 1957–1959
Aston Martin DB Mark III The DB 2/4 Mark III (normally simply called DB Mark III, even at the time of its introduction) is a grand tourer sold by Aston Martin from 1957 until 1959. It was an evolution of the Aston Martin DB2/4, DB2/4 Mark II model it replaced, using a ...
File:Aston-Martin DB4.JPG, 1958–1963 Aston Martin DB4/GT File:DB4GT Zagato at Goodwood.jpg, 1961–1963 Aston Martin DB4 GT Zagato File:AMDB5No1.jpg, 1963–1965
Aston Martin DB5 The Aston Martin DB5 is a British grand tourer (GT) produced by Aston Martin and designed by Italian coachbuilder Carrozzeria Touring Superleggera. Originally produced from 1963 to 1965, the DB5 was an evolution of the final series of DB4. Alth ...
File:Aston Martin DB6 r.jpg, 1965–1971
Aston Martin DB6 The Aston Martin DB6 is a grand tourer made by British car manufacturer Aston Martin and was produced from September 1965 to January 1971. The DB6 succeeded the Aston Martin DB5 and featured improved aerodynamics and specification over its pred ...
File:Aston Martin DBS V8 and Series II.jpg, 1967–1989 DBS and later V8s File:Zagato.jpg, 1986–1990
Aston Martin V8 Zagato __NOTOC__ The V8 Zagato model Aston Martin was a grand tourer of the 1980s. Just 52 examples of the coupé and 37 of the convertible were built between 1986 and 1990. The coupé was first unveiled at the 1986 Geneva Motor Show, and orders were ...
File:Virage Volante.jpg, 1989–2000 Virage/V8/Vantage File:2001 Aston Martin DB7 Vantage Coupe.jpg, 1993–2003
Aston Martin DB7 The Aston Martin DB7 is a grand tourer which was produced by British luxury automobile manufacturer Aston Martin from September 1994 to December 2004. The car was available either as a coupé or a convertible. The prototype was complete by Nov ...
/ Vantage File:Amvanquish.jpg, 2001–2007 Aston Martin V12 Vanquish/S File:Zagato Paris.JPG, 2002–2003 DB7 Zagato coupé/roadster File:Aston Martin DB AR1.jpg, 2002–2004
Aston Martin DB AR1 The Aston Martin DB7 is a grand tourer which was produced by British luxury automobile manufacturer Aston Martin from September 1994 to December 2004. The car was available either as a coupé or a convertible. The prototype was complete by Novem ...
roadster File:Aston Martin DB9 - Flickr - Alexandre Prévot (16) (cropped).jpg, 2003–2016
Aston Martin DB9 The Aston Martin DB9 is a grand tourer produced by Aston Martin. Available both in coupé and a convertible bodystyles, the latter being known as the Volante, the DB9 was the successor to the DB7. It was first shown at the 2003 Frankfurt ...
coupé/Volante File:Aston Martin V8 Vantage - Flickr - Alexandre Prévot (15) (cropped).jpg, 2005–2017 Aston Martin V8/V12 Vantage File:Aston Martin DBS - Flickr - Alexandre Prévot (11) (cropped).jpg, 2007–2012
Aston Martin DBS V12 The Aston Martin DBS is a high-performance grand tourer based on the DB9 and manufactured by the British luxury automobile manufacturer Aston Martin. Aston Martin has used the DBS name once before on their 1967–72 grand tourer coupé. The ...
File:Aston Martin One-77 (8701486190) (cropped).jpg, 2009–2012
Aston Martin One-77 The Aston Martin One-77 is a two-door, two-seater flagship sports car built by the British car manufacturer Aston Martin. The car was first shown at the 2008 Paris Motor Show, although it remained mostly covered by a "Savile Row tailored skirt ...
File:Aston Martin Rapide - Flickr - Alexandre Prévot (12) (cropped).jpg, 2010–2020
Aston Martin Rapide The Aston Martin Rapide is a 4-door, 4-seater, high-performance sports saloon, which the British luxury marque Aston Martin introduced in early 2010. It was first presented as a concept car at the North American International Auto Show in 20 ...
File:2012 Aston Martin Virage coupé.jpg, 2011–2012
Aston Martin Virage The Aston Martin Virage is an automobile produced by British luxury automobile manufacturer Aston Martin as a replacement for its V8 models. Introduced at the Birmingham Motor Show in 1988, it was joined by the high-performance Vantage in 199 ...
File:Aston Martin Cygnet (82).JPG, 2011–2013 Aston Martin Cygnet File:Red Aston Martin V12 Zagato fr IAA 2011.jpg, 2012–2013
Aston Martin V12 Zagato The Aston Martin V12 Zagato is a British sports car/endurance racer made by Aston Martin in collaboration with Zagato to celebrate a fifty-year partnership since the Aston Martin DB4 GT Zagato. Introduced in Lake Como, Italy at the Concorso d ...
File:White Aston Martin Vanquish in France (cropped).jpg, 2012–2018
Aston Martin Vanquish The Aston Martin Vanquish is a high-performance grand tourer introduced by British luxury automobile manufacturer Aston Martin in 2001 as a successor to the Aston Martin Vantage (1993). The Aston Martin "V12 Vanquish," designed by Ian Callum ...
File:2018 Aston Martin DB11 V8 Automatic 4.0.jpg, 2016–
Aston Martin DB11 The Aston Martin DB11 is a grand tourer produced by British luxury car manufacturer Aston Martin since 2016. It debuted at the Geneva Motor Show in March 2016 as a replacement to the DB9. It is the first model launched in Aston Martin's 's ...
File:Aston Martin Vantage, Paris Motor Show 2018, IMG 0660.jpg, 2017–
Aston Martin Vantage __NOTOC__ Aston Martin has used the Vantage name on a number of vehicles, normally indicating a high-performance version of another model. In one case, during 1972–1973, the Vantage was a distinct model, being a straight-6 powered version of ...
File:2019 Aston Martin DBS Superleggera in White Stone, front left.jpg, 2018–
Aston Martin DBS Superleggera The Aston Martin DBS, formerly called the Aston Martin DBS Superleggera before the 2022 model year, is a high-performance grand tourer produced by British luxury car manufacturer Aston Martin since 2018. In June 2018, Atin unveiled the car as ...
File:Aston Martin DBX Auto Zuerich 2021 IMG 0427.jpg, 2020–
Aston Martin DBX The Aston Martin DBX is a mid-size luxury crossover SUV produced by British luxury car manufacturer Aston Martin. Production officially started on 9 July 2020. Design The DBX is the first car made at Aston Martin's new facility in St Athan, Wa ...


Brand expansion

Since 2015, Aston Martin has sought to increase its appeal to women as a luxury lifestyle brand. A female advisory panel was established to adapt the design of the cars to the taste of women. In September 2016, a 37-foot-long Aston Martin speedboat was unveiled called the Aston Martin AM37 powerboat. In September 2017, Aston Martin announced that they had partnered with submarine building company
Triton Submarines Triton Submarines is a Florida-based company that designs and manufactures private submersibles for research, filming, deep-ocean exploration, and the luxury yachting and tourism sector. It was founded in 2007. History In 2017, Triton announced ...
to build a submarine called Project Neptune. Aston Martin has collaborated with the luxury clothing company
Hackett London Hackett Limited is a British multi-channel retailer of clothing for men and boys, with a broad range of apparel and accessories. It was founded in 1983 in London, England. As of June 2019, the company had 160 stores globally, with its flagship ...
to deliver items of clothing. In November 2017, Aston Martin unveiled a special limited edition bicycle after collaborating with bicycle manufacturer
Storck August Storck KG () is a German candy producer with headquarters in Berlin, owned by Axel Oberwelland. Its subsidiary in the United Kingdom has been the company Bendicks in Winchester since 1988. The main facility of Storck in Germany is ...
. Aston Martin and global property developer G&G Business Developments are currently building a 66-storey luxury condominium tower called Aston Martin Residences at 300 Biscayne Boulevard Way in
Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...
, Florida, which is set for completion in 2021. In July 2018, Aston Martin unveiled the Volante Vision Concept, a luxury concept aircraft with vertical take-off and landing capabilities. Also in July, a Lego version of James Bond's DB5 car was put on sale and an Aston Martin-branded watch was released in collaboration with
TAG Heuer TAG Heuer S.A. ( ) is a Swiss luxury watchmaker that designs, manufactures and markets watches and fashion accessories, as well as eyewear and mobile phones manufactured under license by other companies and carrying the TAG Heuer brand name. ...
. In October 2018, Aston Martin announced it was opening a design and brand studio in Shanghai.


Controversy

In November 2020, Aston Martin was accused with promoting misinformation about electric vehicles after funding a
greenwashing Greenwashing (a compound word modeled on " whitewash"), also called "green sheen", is a form of advertising or marketing spin in which green PR and green marketing are deceptively used to persuade the public that an organization's products, aim ...
report in conjunction with Bosch and a number of other companies. The scandal - which became known as ' Astongate' - centered around the ties between James Michael Stephens, the Director Global Government & Corporate Affairs at Aston Martin Lagonda Ltd, and a communications agency called Clarendon Communications which was set up by Stephens and used to promote the misinformation report to the British press in the wake of the UK government declaring a ban on the sale of new combustion engine vehicles from 2030 onwards.


Motorsport

Aston Martin is currently associated with two different racing organisations. The Aston Martin Formula One team which competes in the Formula One Championship and
Aston Martin Racing Aston Martin Racing is a British auto racing team established in 2004 as a partnership between automobile manufacturer Aston Martin and engineering group Prodrive. The partnership was initially created for the purpose of returning Asto ...
which currently competes in the FIA World Endurance Championship. Both racing organisations use the Aston Martin brand, but are not directly owned by Aston Martin. The Aston Martin Formula One team is owned by major Aston Martin shareholder Lawrence Stroll, while Aston Martin Racing is operated by racing company Prodrive as part of a partnership with Aston Martin.


Formula One

Aston Martin participated as a Formula One constructor in and entering six races over the two years but failing to score any points. In January 2020, it was announced that the
Racing Point F1 Team Racing Point F1 Team, which competed as BWT Racing Point F1 Team and commonly known as Racing Point, was a British motor racing team and constructor that Racing Point UK entered into the Formula One World Championship. The team was based in ...
is due to be rebranded as Aston Martin for the 2021 season, as a result of a funding investment led by
Racing Point Racing Point F1 Team, which competed as BWT Racing Point F1 Team and commonly known as Racing Point, was a British motor racing team and constructor that Racing Point UK entered into the Formula One World Championship. The team was based in ...
owner
Lawrence Stroll Lawrence Sheldon Strulović (name later anglicized to Strulovitch) (born 11 July 1959), best known as Lawrence Stroll, is a Canadian billionaire businessman, part-owner and executive chairman of Aston Martin, and the owner of the Aston Martin F1 ...
. As part of the rebrand, the team switched their racing colour of BWT pink to a modern iteration of Aston Martin's
British racing green British racing green, or BRG, is a colour similar to ''Brunswick green'', ''hunter green'', ''forest green'' or '' moss green'' ( RAL 6005). It takes its name from the green international motor racing colour of the United Kingdom. This origina ...
. The Aston Martin AMR21 was unveiled in March 2021 and became Aston Martin's first Formula One car after a 61-year absence from the sport.


Racing cars (post-war)

*
Aston Martin DB3 :''See Aston Martin DB Mark III for the road car often called "DB3"'' The Aston Martin DB3 and later DB3S were Sports car racing, sports racing cars built in the 1950s. Although they used some Aston Martin DB2, DB2 parts, they were quite differe ...
(1950–1953) *
Aston Martin DB3S The Aston Martin DB3S is a sports racing car that was built by Aston Martin. Following the failure of the heavy and uncompetitive Aston Martin DB3 designed by Eberan Eberhorst; William Watson, employed as Eberhorst's assistant, presented an alt ...
(1953–1956) *
Aston Martin DBR1 The Aston Martin DBR1 was a sports racing car built by Aston Martin starting in 1956, intended for the World Sportscar Championship as well as non-championship sportscar races at the time. It is most famous as the victor of the 1959 24 Hours of ...
(1956–1959) * Aston Martin DBR2 (1957–1958) * Aston Martin DBR3 (1958) *
Aston Martin DBR4 The Aston Martin DBR4/250, commonly referred to simply as the DBR4, is a Formula One racing car, designed by Ted Cutting for the sports car manufacturer Aston Martin. Following notable successes in sports car racing during the mid- to late-1950s ...
(1959) *
Aston Martin DBR5 The Aston Martin DBR5 (also known as DBR5/250) was a Formula One racing car, designed by the sports car manufacturer Aston Martin. Following the poor results of the Aston Martin DBR4 in the 1959 Formula One season the lighter and smaller DBR5 w ...
(1960) *
Aston Martin DP212 The Aston Martin DP212 was a prototype sports car developed by Aston Martin for use in the 1962 24 Hours of Le Mans. The car was built on the chassis of a DB4 GT, but featured a streamlined body specifically designed to handle the high speeds ...
(1962) * Aston Martin DP214 (1963) * Aston Martin DP215 (1963) * Aston Martin RHAM/1 (1976–1979) *
Aston Martin AMR1 The Aston Martin AMR1 was a Group C formula racing car developed in 1989 for car manufacturer Aston Martin. It participated in the 1989 World Sports Prototype Championship and 1989 24 Hours of Le Mans. Design Following Aston Martin's raci ...
(1989) * Aston Martin AMR2 (never raced) *
Aston Martin DBR9 The Aston Martin DBR9 is a racing car built by Aston Martin Racing, debuting in 2005 and racing actively in international sportscar racing until the end of GT1 category in 2011. The name DBR9 is derived from the original 24 Hours of Le Mans-winn ...
(2005–2008) *
Aston Martin DBRS9 The Aston Martin DBRS9 was a racing car built by Aston Martin Racing to be a cheaper alternative to the Aston Martin DBR9, both of which are based on the Aston Martin DB9. The DBRS9 was introduced in 2005 and has since been replaced with the ...
(2005–2008) *
Aston Martin V8 Vantage N24 The Aston Martin Vantage N24 is a race car introduced by Aston Martin in 2006, based on the V8 Vantage road car. In late 2008, Aston Martin debuted an updated version of the N24, with the newer Aston Martin Vantage GT4, which featured a larger ...
(2006–2008) * Aston Martin V8 Vantage Rally GT (2006–2010) * Aston Martin V8 Vantage GT2 (2008–2017) *
Aston Martin V8 Vantage GT4 The Aston Martin Vantage GT4 is an updated version of the Aston Martin V8 Vantage N24, debuting in late 2008. Its primary alteration is the introduction of the new 4.7-litre V8 that also debuted in the production V8 Vantage. This replaces the 4. ...
(2008–2018) * Aston Martin DBR1-2 (2009) *
Aston Martin AMR-One The Aston Martin AMR-One was a Le Mans Prototype sports car built by Prodrive's Aston Martin Racing arm. The car was a successor to the Aston Martin DBR1-2. Development To meet the new regulations brought in by the ACO for endurance racing, ...
(2011) * Aston Martin Vantage GTE (2018–) * Aston Martin AMR21 (2021) * Aston Martin AMR22 (2022)


Aston Martin-powered racing cars

*
Cooper Cooper, Cooper's, Coopers and similar may refer to: * Cooper (profession), a maker of wooden casks and other staved vessels Arts and entertainment * Cooper (producers), alias of Dutch producers Klubbheads * Cooper (video game character), in ...
-Aston Martin (1963) * Lola T70-Aston Martin (1967) * Aston Martin DPLM (1980–1982) *
Nimrod NRA/C2 The Nimrod NRA/C2 was the only Group C racing car ever built by Nimrod Racing Automobiles in partnership with Aston Martin. It ran initially in 1982 in the World Endurance Championship before also joining the IMSA GT Championship. The final NRA ...
-Aston Martin (1982–1984) * Aston Martin EMKA C83/1 and C84/1 (1983–1985) * Cheetah G604-Aston Martin *
Lola B08/60 The Lola B08/60 is a Le Mans Prototype built by Lola Cars International. It is the first closed-cockpit sports prototype built by Lola since the 1992 T92/10. It started competition in 2008, with Aston Martin being among the first customers fo ...
-Aston Martin (2008–)


24 Hours of Le Mans finishes


Sponsorships

Aston Martin sponsors 2. Bundesliga club 1860 Munich.


See also

* Aston Martin Heritage Trust Museum * Aston Martin Owners Club *
List of car manufacturers of the United Kingdom :''This list is incomplete. You can help by adding correctly sourced information about other manufacturers.'' As of 2018 there are approximately 35 active British car manufacturers and over 500 defunct British car manufacturers. This page lists ...


References


External links

* {{Authority control 1913 establishments in England 2018 initial public offerings Automotive companies of England British racecar constructors British Royal Warrant holders Car brands Car manufacturers of the United Kingdom Companies based in Warwickshire Companies listed on the London Stock Exchange English brands Luxury motor vehicle manufacturers Motor vehicle manufacturers of England Premier Automotive Group Sports car manufacturers Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 1913 2022 mergers and acquisitions