The name ‘Aston Martin’ retains a certain inherent pedigree that one only finds in other manufacturers such as Rolls-Royce or Bentley. Perhaps it’s a traditionally British thing, but the Astons Martins of both today and yesterday just ooze ‘Britishness’. That is to say, style and sophistication.
The Aston Martin of yesteryear was indeed a well-known company in its day, but nowhere near the calibre of the modern Aston Martin. Founded in 1913 by Lionel Martin and Robert Bamford, the company primarily sold vehicles made by ‘Singer’. Both men enlisted in to the armed forces following the outbreak of the World War One, thus bringing the life of the company to an abrupt temporary halt. Of course, as one would expect, this was not the end of Aston Martin at all. Following the end of the war, the two founding fathers re-founded the company and begin making plans to produce cars of their very own.
Thus, the record breaking ‘Green Pea’, ‘Razor Blade’ and ‘Halford Special’ were born – three successful racing cars that quickly gained fame the world over for the records they broke. By the time the company went bankrupt in 1924, they had produced 55 cars for sale to the public. It was this bankruptcy that was to start a long-time tradition of Aston Martin, as a company in dire financial straits, being rescued by wealthy investors. The company went bankrupt again in 1925, only to be rescued again in 1926.
By this time, the company managed to break even, producing successful racing cars for the global racing scene, whilst selling scaled down models to the public. The outbreak of World War II saw Aston Martin revert to manufacturing aircraft components for the war effort, but by 1947 the company was rescued by David Brown Limited, to return to the car manufacturing scene. It’s during this era that the infamous ‘DB’ series of Aston Martins first began production. The appearance of Aston Martin’s DB5 cemented the companies high-class fame the world-over, seeing a steady rise in the price of the company’s cars due to radically increasing demand.
Despite the appreciation of Aston Martin’s production models, the company itself was again in financial trouble; enter Company Developments Ltd., and ten years later, Victor Gauntlett. It would be the succession of these two ownerships that would see the modernising of Aston Martin – turning it in to a profitable company whilst producing further iconic models such as the V8 Vantage. In essence, between 1970 and 1991, these two successive ownerships laid the groundwork for the Aston Martin we know today.
Enter Ford. The DB7 is born in 1993 and the classic missile-design we know and love today is born. 2001 saw the birth of the Vanquish and 2003 saw the introduction of the DB9. No summary is needed about these models – everybody knows about them! Which just about sums up Aston Martin’s current position in the global supercar market; everybody knows about them.
