Aston Martin Lagonda Limitedis a British manufacturer of�luxury�sports cars�and�grand tourers. It was founded in 1913 by Lionel Martin and Robert Bamford.
The firm became associated with luxury grand touring cars in the 1950s and 1960s, and with the fictional character�James Bondfollowing his use of a�DB5�model in the 1964 film�Goldfinger.
The company has had a chequered financial history, including bankruptcy in the 1970s, but has also enjoyed long periods of success and stability, including under the ownership of�David Brown, from 1947 to 1972 and of the�Ford Motor Company�from 1994 to 2007.
In March 2007, a consortium of investors, led by�David Richards, purchased 92% of Aston Martin for �479�million, with Ford retaining a �40�million stake.�David Richards became chairman of Aston Martin. In December 2012, the Italian private equity fund Investindustrial[5]�signed a deal to buy 37.5% of Aston Martin, investing �150 million as a capital increase.
Founding
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�Singer�from premises in Callow Street, London where they also serviced�GWK�and�Calthorpe�vehicles. Martin raced specials at�Aston Hill�near�Aston Clinton, and the pair decided to make their own vehicles.[9]�The first car to be named�Aston Martinwas 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 first car in March 1915. Production could not start because of the outbreak of�World War I, and Martin joined the�Admiralty�and Bamford the�Royal Army Service Corps. All machinery was sold to the�Sopwith Aviation Company. Inter war years
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 company was revitalised with funding from�Count Louis Zborowski. In 1922, Bamford & Martin produced cars to compete in the�French Grand Prix, which went on to set world speed and endurance records at�Brooklands. 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�record car; and chassis number 1916, later developed as the�Halford Special.
Approximately 55 cars were built for sale in two configurations,�long chassis�and short chassis. The company went bankrupt in 1924 and was bought by Lady Charnwood, 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 included Lady Charnwood took control of the company. They renamed it Aston Martin Motors and moved it to the former Whitehead Aircraft Limited works in�Feltham. 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 chassis. The only "Renwick and Bertelli" motor car made, it was known as "Buzzbox" and still survives. David Brown era
In 1947, tractor manufacturer�David Brown Limited�bought the company under the leadership of managing director�Sir David Brown�its "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, leading to the classic "DB" series 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�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. The company stayed true to its emerging "grand touring" 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.
