Founding[edit]

Aston Martin was founded in 1913 by Lionel Martin and Robert Bamford.[8] The two
had joined forces as Bamford & Martin the previous year to sell cars made by Si
nger from premises in Callow Street, London where they also serviced GWK and Cal
thorpe vehicles. Martin raced specials at Aston Hill near Aston Clinton, and the
pair decided to make their own vehicles.[9] The first car to be named Aston Mar
tin was created by Martin by fitting a four-cylinder Coventry-Simplex engine to
the chassis of a 1908 Isotta-Fraschini.[10][11]
They acquired premises at Henniker Mews[12] in Kensington and produced their fir
st car in March 1915. Production could not start because of the outbreak of Worl
d War I, and Martin joined the Admiralty and Bamford the Royal Army Service Corp
s. All machinery was sold to the Sopwith Aviation Company.
Inter war years[edit]
After the war, the company was refounded at Abingdon Road, Kensington and a new
car designed to carry the Aston-Martin name. Bamford left in 1920 and the compan
y was revitalised with funding from Count Louis Zborowski. In 1922, Bamford & Ma
rtin produced cars to compete in the French Grand Prix, which went on to set wor
ld speed and endurance records at Brooklands. Three works Team Cars with 16-valv
e twin cam engines were built for racing and record breaking: chassis number 191
4, later developed as the Green Pea; chassis number 1915, the Razor Blade record
car; and chassis number 1916, later developed as the Halford Special.
Approximately 55 cars were built for sale in two configurations, long chassis an
d short chassis. The company went bankrupt in 1924 and was bought by Lady Charnw
ood, who put her son John Benson on the board. The company failed again in 1925
and the factory closed in 1926, with Lionel Martin leaving.
Later that year, Bill Renwick, Augustus (Bert) Bertelli and investors which incl
uded Lady Charnwood took control of the company. They renamed it Aston Martin Mo
tors and moved it to the former Whitehead Aircraft Limited works in Feltham. Ren
wick and Bertelli had been in partnership some years and had developed an overhe
ad-cam four-cylinder engine using Renwick's patented combustion chamber design,
which they had tested in an Enfield Allday chassis. The only "Renwick and Bertel
li" motor car made, it was known as "Buzzbox" and still survives.
The pair had planned to sell their engine to motor manufacturers, but having hea
rd that the Aston Martin was no longer in production realised they could capital
ise 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 n
ew Aston Martins, since known as "Bertelli cars". They included the 1-litre "T-ty
pe", "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 o
pen two-seater sports cars bodied by Bert Bertelli's brother Enrico (Harry), wit
h 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/manufact
urer/drivers. The "LM" team cars were very successful in national and internatio
nal motor racing including at Le Mans and the Mille Miglia.
Financial problems reappeared in 1932. The company was rescued for a year by L.
Prideaux Brune before passing it on to Sir Arthur Sutherland. In 1936, Aston Mar
tin decided to concentrate on road cars, producing just 700 until World War II h
alted work. Production shifted to aircraft components during the war.
David Brown era[edit]
1958 Aston Martin DB Mark III
In 1947, tractor manufacturer David Brown Limited bought the company under the l
eadership of managing director Sir David Brownits "post-war saviour". The company
also acquired Lagonda that year for its 2.6-litre W. O. Bentley-designed engine
. Both companies shared resources and workshops, birthing the classic "DB" serie
s of cars. In 1950, the company announced 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 D
B4 in 1958.
While these models helped Aston Martin establish a good racing pedigree, the DB4
stood out and yielded the famous DB5 in 1963. The company stayed true to its em
erging "grand touring" style with the DB6 (196570), and DBS (19671972).
The six-cylinder engines of these cars from 1954 up to 1965 were designed by Tad
ek Marek.
1970schanging ownership[edit]
The Aston Martin company was often financially troubled. In 1972, the firm was s
old to Company Developments, a Birmingham-based consortium chaired by William Wi
lson, MBE.[13]
The company was resold in 1975 by its receiver following a further bankruptcy to
North American businessmen Peter Sprague and George Minden for 1.05 million.[14]
A successful turn-around strategy led to the recruitment of 360 new employees a
nd, by 1977, a trading profit of 750,000.[14] The new owners pushed the company i
nto modernising its line, producing the V8 Vantage in 1977, the convertible Vola
nte in 1978, and the one-off William Towns-styled Bulldog in 1980. Towns also st
yled the futuristic new Lagonda saloon, based on the V8 model.
In 1980 Aston-Martin sought to buy MG, planning to design a new model and offeri
ng their take on an updated 1981 model MGB. The acquisition never developed, as
the company was badly hit by the economic contraction of the early 1980s. Worldw
ide sales shrank to three cars per week, prompting chairman Alan Curtis, Sprague
, and Minden to consider shutting down production to concentrate on service and
restoration. At this point Curtis attended the 1980 Pace sponsored Stirling Moss
benefit day at Brands Hatch, and met fellow Farnham resident Victor Gauntlett.
1980sVictor Gauntlett[edit]
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 to
ok over as joint 50/50 owners at the beginning of 1981, with Gauntlett as execut
ive chairman. Gauntlett also led the sales team, and after some development and
publicity when it became the world's fastest 4-seater production car, was able t
o sell the Aston Martin Lagonda in Oman, Kuwait, and Qatar.[15]
In 1982, Aston Martin was granted a Royal Warrant of Appointment by the Prince o
f Wales.[citation needed] The company holds the warrant to this day.
Understanding that it would take some time to develop new Aston Martin products,
they created an engineering service subsidiary to develop automotive products f
or other companies. It was decided to use the name of the coachbuilding company
Tickford which Aston Martin had owned since 1955, the name being already associa
ted with quality cars in the public perception. Products included a Tickford Aus
tin Metro, a Tickford Ford Capri and even Tickford train interiors, particularly
on the Jaguar XJS.[15] Pace continued sponsoring racing events, and now sponsor
ed all Aston Martin Owners Club events, taking a Tickford-engined Nimrod Group C
car owned by AMOC President Viscount Downe, which came third in the Manufacture
rs Championship in both 1982 and 1983. It also finished seventh in the 1982 24 H
ours of Le Mans race. However, sales of production cars were now at an all time
low of 30 cars produced in 1982.[15]
As trading became tighter in the petroleum market, and Aston Martin was requirin
g more time and money, Gauntlett agreed to sell Hays/Pace to the Kuwait Investme
nt Office in September 1983. As Aston Martin required greater investment, he als
o agreed to sell his share holding to American importer and Greek shipping tycoo
n Peter Livanos, who invested via his joint venture company with Nick and John P
apanicalou, ALL Inc. Gauntlett remained chairman of the AML company 55% 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 residu
al shares were exchanged for CHI's complete ownership of Tickford, which retaine
d development of existing Aston Martin projects. In 1984, Titan the main shippin
g company of the Papanicolaou's was in trouble, so Livanos's father George bough
t out the Papanicolaou's shares in ALL, while Gauntlett again became a sharehold
er with a 25% holding in AML. The deal valued Aston Martin/AML at 2 million, the
year it built its 10,000th car.[15]
Although as a result Aston Martin had to make 60 members of the workforce redund
ant, Gauntlett bought a stake in Italian styling house Zagato, and resurrected i
ts collaboration with Aston Martin.
Aston Martin V8 Vantage from The Living Daylights
In 1986, Gauntlett negotiated the return of fictional British secret agent James
Bond to Aston Martin. Cubby Broccoli had chosen to recast the character using a
ctor Timothy Dalton, 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 u
se in the filming of The Living Daylights, and sold a Volante to Broccoli for us
e at his home in America. Gauntlett turned down the role of a KGB colonel in the
film, however: "I would have loved to have done it but really could not afford
the time."[16]
The company needed funds to survive in the long term. In May 1987, Gauntlett and
Prince Michael of Kent were staying at the home of Contessa Maggi, the wife of
the founder of the original Mille Miglia, while watching the revival event. Anot
her house guest was Walter Hayes, vice-President of Ford of Europe. Despite prob
lems over the previous acquisition of AC Cars, Hayes saw the potential of the br
and and the discussion resulted in Ford taking a share holding in September 1987
.[17] In 1988, having produced some 5,000 cars in 20 years, a revived economy an
d successful sales of limited edition Vantage, and 52 Volante Zagato coupes at 86
,000 each; the company finally retired the ancient V8 and introduced the Virage
rangethe first new Aston launched in 20 years.
Although Gauntlett was contractually to stay as chairman for two years, his raci
ng interests took Aston back into sports car racing in 1989 with limited Europea
n success. However, with engine rule changes for the 1990 season and the launch
of the new Aston Martin Volante model, Ford provided the limited supply of Coswo
rth engines to the Jaguar cars racing team. As the "small Aston" DB7 would requi
re a large engineering input, Ford agreed to take full control of Aston Martin,
and Gauntlett handed over the company chairmanship to Hayes in 1991.[18] In 1992
, the Vantage version was announced, and the following year the company renewed
the DB range by announcing the DB7.
Ford era[edit]
Ford placed Aston in the Premier Automotive Group, invested in new manufacturing
and ramped up production. In 1994, Ford opened a new factory at Banbury Road in
Bloxham. In 1995, the company produced a record 700 vehicles. Until the Ford er
a, cars had been produced by hand coachbuilding craft methods, such as the Engli
sh wheel. In 1998 the 2,000th DB7 was built, and in 2002 the 6,000th, exceeding
production of all previous DB models. The DB7 range was boosted by the addition
of V12 Vantage models in 1999, and in 2001 the company introduced the V12-engine
d Aston Martin Vanquish.
At the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, Michigan in 2003, Asto
n Martin introduced the AMV8 Vantage concept car. Expected to have few changes b
efore its introduction in 2005, the Vantage brought back the classic V8 engine t
o allow the company to compete in a larger market. 2003 also saw the opening of
the Gaydon factory, the first purpose-built factory in Aston Martin's history. A
lso introduced in 2003 was the DB9 coup, which replaced the ten-year-old DB7. A c
onvertible version of the DB9, the DB9 Volante, was introduced at the 2004 Detro
it Auto Show.
In October 2004, the company set up the dedicated 12,500 square metres (135,000
sq ft) AMEP engine production plant within the Ford Germany Niehl, Cologne plant
. With capacity to produce up to 5,000 engines a year by 100 specially trained p
ersonnel, like traditional Aston Martin engine production from Newport Pagnell,
assembly of each unit is entrusted to a single technician from a pool of 30, wit
h V8 and V12 variants assembled in under 20 hours. By bringing engine production
back to within the company, the promise was that Aston Martin would be able to
produce small runs of higher performance variants engines.[19] This expanded eng
ine capacity allowed in 2006, the V8 Vantage sports car to enter production at t
he Gaydon factory, 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, which became responsibl
e, together with Prodrive, for the design, development, and management of the DB
R9 program. The DBR9 competes in the GT class in sports car races, including the
world-famous 24 Hours of Le Mans.
In 2006, an internal audit led Ford to consider divesting itself of parts of its
Premier Automotive Group. After suggestions of selling Jaguar Cars, Land Rover,
or Volvo Cars were weighed, Ford announced in August 2006 it had engaged UBS AG
to sell all or part of Aston Martin at auction.[20]
2007the Richards era[edit]
On 12 March 2007, a consortium led by Prodrive chairman David Richards purchased
Aston Martin for 475m (US$848m).[21] The group included American investment bank
er John Singers and two Kuwaiti companies, Investment Dar and Adeem Investment;[
22][23] Prodrive had no financial involvement in the deal.[24] Ford kept a stake
in the company valued at 40m (US$70m).
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 was undertak
en between June and August 2007. A pair of Britons drove 12,089 km (7,512 miles)
from Tokyo to Istanbul before joining the European motorway network for another
3,259 km (2,025 miles) to London. The promotion was so successful the company o
pened dealerships in Shanghai and Beijing within three months.[25]
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 conve
rted to Aston Martin's service and restoration department.[26] UK production is
now concentrated at Gaydon on the former RAF V-bomber airfield.[27] In March 200
8 the company announced a partnership with Magna Steyr to outsource manufacture
of over 2,000 cars annually to Graz, Austria, reassuringly stating: "The continu
ing growth and success of the company is based upon Gaydon as the focal point an
d heart of the business, with the design and engineering of all Aston Martin pro
ducts continuing to be carried out there."[28]
More dealers in Europe and the new pair in China brought the total to 120 in 28
countries.[29]
On 1 September 2008, Aston Martin announced the revival of the Lagonda marque, p
roposing a concept to be shown in 2009 to coincide with the brand's 100th annive
rsary. The first production cars are slated for 2012.[30]
In December 2008, Aston Martin announced it would cut its workforce from 1,850 t
o 1,250.[3]
The first four-door Aston Martin Rapide sports cars rolled out of the Magna Stey
r factory in Graz, Austria in 2010.[31] The contract manufacturer provides dedic
ated facilities to ensure compliance with the exacting standards of Aston Martin
and other marques, including Mercedes-Benz. Ulrich Bez has publicly speculated
about outsourcing all of Aston Martin's operations with the exception of marketi
ng.[32] In September 2011 it was announced Rapide production would be returned t
o Gaydon in the second half of 2012, restoring all manufacture there.[33]
In late 2012, Investment Dar reviewed its stake, with Mahindra & Mahindra emergi
ng as a potential bidder for as much as half of Aston Martin.[34][35] Instead, I
talian private equity fund Investindustrial signed a deal on 6 December 2012 to
buy 37.5% of Aston Martin, investing 150 million as a capital increase.[6][7][36]
[37] This was confirmed by Aston Martin in a press release on 7 December 2012.[3
8] In April 2013 it was reported that Dr Ulrich Bez would be leaving his role as
chief executive officer to take up a more ambassadorial position[39] widely see
n as the first move by the new shareholders in reviewing the leadership and stra
tegy of the company.
Aston Martin V8 and V12 engines are still manufactured by Aston Martin, they hav
e a separate section at Ford's engine plant in Cologne, Germany by an agreement
that lasted until 2013.[40] Ford, which does not use either of the engines in it
s vehicle range and derives little benefit from the arrangement, has declined to
comment on its future.
On July 25, 2013 Aston Martin reached a partnership with Mercedes-AMG to supply
new components and power plants for the next generation line up.