Aston Martin Car Manufacturers

Aston Martin was founded in 1913 by Robert Bamford and Lionel Martin; it earned its name from Martin's success with racing at the Aston Hill speed hill climb near Aston Clinton in Buckinghamshire. In 1922, Aston Martin race cars set several world speed records. Aston Martin is a British luxury performance car company that takes pride in its heritage of hand-built vehicles that provide an exhilarating driving experience for the affluent customer.

Financial strains resulted in the company being managed by several owners. In 1947, David Brown Limited bought Aston Martin and later acquired Lagonda and the Tickford coachbuilding company. This acquisition resulted in the design of the DB series. Aston Martin moved through several directors and in 1994 was bought by Ford Motor Company, who then sold a majority of their stake in 2007 to an investor group.

Racing is a critical element to Aston Martin and the company has a list of wins attached to its brand. In the 1950s, Aston Martin won the World Sports Car Championship multiple times and earned the title of winner in the LeMans in 1959. After an extended hiatus from the company on the race track, they returned in 2004 and the DBR9 claimed the LeMans prize again in 2006. This return to racing was promoted by Dr. Ulrich Bez, who became CEO of Aston Martin in 2000. As an avid race car driver himself, Dr. Bez was part of the team that drove the Aston Martin V8 Vantage to finish 24th overall in the 2006 24 hours Nurburgring endurance race.

Founded

London, 1913

Headquarters

Gaydon, Warwickshire, England, United Kingdom

Founder

Lionel Martin and Robert Bamford

Website

http://astonmartin.com

Aston Martin currently has three product lines. The V8 Vantage, the DB9 which features heightened levels of comfort and class, and the DBS fills the space between sports car and race car. To support its level of luxury and exclusivity, Aston Martin produces a low volume of race cars; the company sold a total of 140 cars in 1937 and did not produce its 30,000th unit until 2006. The DB7 model launched in 1994 accelerated growth, with 7,000 cars produced by 2003.

The retail network for Aston Martin stretches across 27 countries and approximately 1600 Aston Martins were sold in the United States in 2008. In terms of establishing a brand presence in the United States, Aston Martin was strategically displayed through effective media placement. For example, the car was featured in the early James Bond movie Goldfinger and it used the James Bond movie Casino Royale to introduce the new DBS in 2006.