Company
Bamford & Martin is founded in Kensington
Lionel Martin and Robert Bamford, two cycling friends, form a company in west London to sell and service Singer cars. Bamford is the engineer. The Aston Martin name does not exist yet.
Gaydon Edition · Origins
The Aston Martin story, from the first sketch to today.
Every model, the versions that mattered, the races that made the name and the people behind them. Scroll through the years, filter what you care about and open any moment for the details and sources.
160 moments · 59 model generations · 113 years
A hill, a driver and a name
Two friends sell Singers in west London and build one car of their own. Racing and records make the name, and burn through the money.
1913
1914
CompanyWar stops the plans before they start
Production cannot begin once the First World War breaks out. Martin joins the Admiralty, Bamford the Army Service Corps, and the workshop’s machinery is sold to Sopwith Aviation.
- People
Martin tackles Aston Hill in a tuned Singer
Martin makes his first run up the hill climb at Aston Clinton in Buckinghamshire. His success there in the following weeks gives the future car the first half of its name.
1915
New model“Coal Scuttle”: the first Aston-Martin is registered
Martin drops a four-cylinder Coventry-Simplex engine into a 1908 Isotta Fraschini chassis, and the car is registered in March 1915. Its crude looks earn it a nickname from a household bucket for hauling coal.
1920
PeopleBamford walks away
After the war the firm restarts at Abingdon Road in Kensington with a new car on the drawing board. Robert Bamford, its engineer, retires from the business, leaving Martin to carry on with outside money.
1921
New modelA3: the oldest Aston Martin to survive
Martin’s post-war prototypes lead to the car known as A3, built in 1921. The first ones were broken up, so A3 is now the oldest surviving Aston Martin.
1922
RacingZborowski’s money takes Aston Martin to a Grand Prix
Count Louis Zborowski, heir to an American fortune, pays for two racing cars for the French Grand Prix. He and Clive Gallop are entered in them, and one becomes known as “Green Pea”.
- Racing
“Bunny” breaks ten world records at Brooklands
A short-wheelbase Aston Martin nicknamed Bunny runs for sixteen and a half hours at Brooklands and takes ten world records, averaging just over 76 mph. It is the kind of publicity Martin needs.
1923
RacingRazor Blade: just 18.5 inches wide
Built to take the one-hour light car record from AC, this needle-thin racer has bodywork by the de Havilland aircraft company. The attempt fails when it keeps throwing a front tyre above 100 mph.
1924
CompanyLady Charnwood steps in
Bamford & Martin goes bankrupt. Dorothea, Lady Charnwood, buys it and puts her son John Benson on the board. It is the first of many rescues in the company’s story.
1925
PeopleThe money runs out and Lionel Martin loses his company
After only about 55 cars for sale, the firm fails again and Martin is forced out. He has poured much of his family’s fortune into racing and production.
Bertelli at Feltham
An Italian-born engineer buys the name and designs nearly everything himself. Low, hard sports cars earn their reputation at Le Mans while the money keeps running out.
1926
Technology“Buzzbox” and the engine behind a decade of Astons
The partners’ 1½-litre overhead-cam four uses Renwick’s patented wedge-shaped combustion chamber. Meant for sale to other makers, it is tested in a single Enfield-Allday chassis nicknamed Buzzbox, which still survives.
- Company
Renwick and Bertelli buy the name for £10,000
Bill Renwick and A. C. “Bert” Bertelli want a respected badge for the engine they have developed. They buy the remains of Bamford & Martin, form Aston Martin Motors and move to Feltham in Middlesex.
1927
New modelThe first Feltham cars reach Olympia
The all-new T Type tourer and a short-chassis Sports Model appear at the 1927 Motor Show, though the sports car is little more than a mock-up. The dry sump and underslung rear would define sporting Astons for a decade.
1928
RacingFirst time at Le Mans
Bertelli builds two lightened works cars, LM1 and LM2, and takes them to the 24 Hours. Both retire, and rear axle trouble on the way there is an early lesson. The LM prefix will mark works racers for years.
1929
New modelThe International sets the template
The Sports Model evolves into the short-chassis International, built until early 1932. It is praised for its roadholding and carries the racing programme, though only 132 first-series cars of all types are made.
- Company
Sidney Whitehouse keeps the lights on
A wealthy enthusiast buys Renwick & Bertelli and invests in the car company, becoming chairman of the new Aston Martin Ltd. Renwick is on his way out, leaving Bertelli as sole designer as the Depression bites.
1931
RacingFifth overall and a first class win at Le Mans
Bertelli himself and Maurice Harvey finish fifth in an International, winning the 1.5-litre class. It is the marque’s first top-five finish at the race, with a designer at the wheel of his own car.
1932
RacingBertelli and Driscoll take the Biennial Cup
Bertelli and Pat Driscoll finish seventh at Le Mans and win the Biennial Cup, a handicap scored over consecutive years. Team-mates Newsome and Widengren come fifth and win the class.
- New model
The Le Mans model, one of the prettiest of its day
Shown at Olympia in 1932, the new Le Mans has a humped scuttle, outside exhaust and slab fuel tank on Claude Hill’s simpler chassis. Backer Lance Prideaux-Brune warns he will pull out unless it brings substantial orders.
1933
CompanyThe Sutherlands buy in
Shipping owner Sir Arthur Sutherland buys out Prideaux-Brune for £10,000 and becomes chairman. His son Gordon, aged 22, becomes joint managing director with Bertelli and orders 100 new chassis.
1934
RacingArds gives the Ulster its name
After a poor Le Mans, three new team cars run in the Tourist Trophy at Ards in Northern Ireland, all finish and win the Team Prize. Replicas are sold as the Ulster, guaranteed capable of 100 mph.
- New model
Mark II: the new car dealers tried to delay
The first Mark II is assembled in January, but dealers still hold 30 or more unsold Le Mans cars. A deal holds back the announcement until July, and 1934 becomes the company’s best year so far.
1935
PeopleThe Aston Martin Owners Club is born
Racing owner Mort Morris-Goodall and journalist Sammy Davis start a club for owners, using notes in Autocar to call the first meeting. It is among the oldest one-make clubs in the world.
- Racing
A first Le Mans podium
Charles Martin and Charles Brackenbury finish third overall in an Ulster, the best pre-war result the marque will ever manage there. Five more Ulsters reach the finish, and the team takes the Rudge Cup.
The Sutherlands, the Atom and the war
A shipping family wants cars that can pay their way, and Bertelli walks out. In wartime a strange tube-framed prototype points to the future.
1936
CompanyFrom racing to selling cars
Sales are falling and the Sutherlands want bought-in parts and cheaper cars. A new 2-litre engine by Claude Hill is developed for the 15/98 tourer, and the decision is taken to concentrate on road cars.
- New model
Speed Model: ready for a race that never happens
Two new 2-litre works racers, LM22 and LM23, are built for Le Mans. Strikes in France cancel the 1936 race, and the cars are quickly sold to cover their cost.
1937
PeopleBertelli resigns
Gordon Sutherland’s decision to subcontract bodywork cuts orders for the coachworks run by Bert Bertelli’s brother Harry. Unwilling to accept the new direction, the man who designed every Aston since 1926 walks out.
- Racing
Privateers keep the Le Mans habit alive
With no works team, an Ulster finishes fifth and wins its class, and Robert Hichens and Mort Morris-Goodall limp home 11th in a Speed Model with a broken piston to claim the Biennial Cup.
1939
CompanyFrom sports cars to aircraft parts
The planned run of 150 2-litre chassis is complete by mid-1938 and little is left to sell. Rearmament work saves the firm, and wartime aircraft parts turn out to be the most profitable business it has known.
1940
New modelThe Atom: a peek into the future
Gordon Sutherland and Claude Hill build a saloon on a patented frame of square steel tube, with independent front suspension and an electric Cotal gearbox. Road-taxed in July 1940, it is driven hard throughout the war.
1945
PeopleLionel Martin dies after a road accident
Petrol rationing has put the founder back on pedal power. Knocked down by a car at traffic lights near his home in Kingston, he dies a week later, aged 67.
1946
Company“High Class Motor Business”
Unable to raise the money for an all-new car, Gordon Sutherland places a small advert in The Times without naming the firm. He asks £30,000. A Yorkshire industrialist sees it and goes to Feltham to try the Atom.
David Brown takes over
A tractor and gear maker answers a small newspaper advert, buys Lagonda for its engine and puts his initials on a line of grand tourers.
1947
CompanyBrown buys Lagonda, mostly for its engine
Lagonda is in liquidation with a modern twin-cam six designed under W. O. Bentley. Brown’s low bid wins when rival bidders drop out, and the engine will power the next Astons. The factory itself goes elsewhere.
- Company
David Brown buys Aston Martin for £20,500
After test driving the Atom, the Huddersfield gear and tractor maker bargains the price down from £30,000. He liked the road holding but not the four-cylinder engine, and he wants an open car.
1948
RacingOutright win first time out at Spa
To test the new chassis, Aston Martin enters a cycle-winged prototype, built in under nine weeks, in the Spa 24 Hours. St John Horsfall and Leslie Johnson win outright.
- New model
2-Litre Sports: the car later called DB1
The first road car of the Brown era appears at the London Motor Show, with Lagonda stylist Frank Feeley’s body on the Atom-derived chassis. Austerity Britain has little appetite for it, and only 15 are built.
1949
RacingA hard return to Le Mans
Three pre-production coupés go to the first post-war 24 Hours. The only one with the Lagonda six lasts six laps, one four-cylinder car comes seventh, and Pierre Maréchal is fatally injured in the other late in the race.
1950
New modelDB2: the Lagonda six meets a Feeley fastback
Announced in spring 1950, the DB2 puts the 2.6-litre twin-cam six in a shortened Hill chassis under Frank Feeley’s fastback coupé body. Aston Martin calls it a sports saloon, and it sets the pattern for the decade.
- Racing
DB2s take the class at Le Mans
George Abecassis and Lance Macklin finish fifth, with Charles Brackenbury and Reg Parnell sixth, for a one-two in the 3-litre class. John Wyer’s careful preparation is now a match for Jaguar’s.
1951
RacingDB3: a professor’s purpose-built racer
Brown hires former Auto Union engineer Robert Eberan von Eberhorst to design a pure competition car. It misses Le Mans and debuts in the Tourist Trophy, and his slow, exacting methods clash with team manager John Wyer.
- Racing
Third at Le Mans in a road-based coupé
Lance Macklin and Eric Thompson bring a DB2 home third, the marque’s first post-war podium. Three more DB2s make the top ten.
1953
New modelDB2/4: rear seats and a tailgate
The DB2 gains two small rear seats and an opening tailgate to the luggage space, an early hatchback in a grand tourer. A larger 2.9-litre engine soon follows.
- Racing
DB3S: the lighter car that finally wins
Assistant Willie Watson’s lighter rework of the DB3 scores a one-two at the Goodwood Nine Hours and again at the Tourist Trophy at Dundrod, led there by Peter Collins and Pat Griffith. Aston takes third in the new world championship.
1954
PeopleTadek Marek joins from Austin
Polish-born engineer and former Rally Poland winner Tadek Marek joins Aston Martin. He reworks the Lagonda six, designs the alloy straight-six for the DB4 and later the V8 that outlives him at the company.
1955
CompanyTickford and Newport Pagnell enter the story
Brown buys the old Tickford coachworks at Newport Pagnell in the mid-1950s, with Feltham outgrown. Bodies for the new DB2/4 Mk II are built there, the first step in moving production to the Buckinghamshire site.
- Racing
Second at Le Mans for the first time
Peter Collins and Paul Frère take a DB3S to second overall, the first of three runner-up finishes before the win.
Le Mans at last, and the DB4
The DBR1 delivers the win David Brown craved and a world title nobody planned for. Formula One goes badly, but Milan and Newport Pagnell produce a new kind of Aston.
1956
RacingDBR1 appears at Le Mans
Ted Cutting’s new spaceframe racer, smaller-engined for that year’s rules, runs seventh before its gearbox fails after 246 laps. A DB3S driven by Stirling Moss and Peter Collins comes second.
1957
New modelDB Mark III: a teenager’s idea shapes the grille
Young designer John Turner, then 17, suggests grafting the front of the DB3S onto the DB2/4. The outline becomes the grille shape of later Astons, and disc brakes soon arrive after the first 100 cars.
- Racing
First world championship win for the DBR1
Now with a 3-litre engine, the DBR1 makes its championship debut at the Nürburgring 1000 km. Tony Brooks and Noël Cunningham-Reid beat the full works might of Ferrari and Maserati, and a run of wins at the ’Ring begins.
1958
RacingMoss and Brabham do it again
Stirling Moss all but wins the Nürburgring 1000 km alone, with Jack Brabham playing a small supporting role over eight laps. At Le Mans the works cars all retire, but the Whitehead brothers’ DB3S finishes second.
- New model
DB4: Milan style, Newport Pagnell build
A completely new car shown at the autumn motor shows, the DB4 has a Touring of Milan superleggera body and Marek’s 3.7-litre alloy six. It causes a sensation and is the first Aston built at Newport Pagnell.
1959
VersionDB4 GT: shorter, lighter, faster
Moss wins at Silverstone in a prototype months before the DB4 GT reaches the London Motor Show. It has a shorter wheelbase, thinner skin, faired-in headlights and a twin-plug engine with three Webers, built to race in the new GT classes.
- Racing
A Grand Prix car that has come too late
The front-engined DBR4, tested as early as 1957, finally starts a championship race at the Dutch Grand Prix. Shelby and Salvadori both retire. By then rear-engined cars are taking over, and it scores no points all season.
- Racing
One car, one Moss, and another ’Ring win
Aston plans to race only at Le Mans, but Moss talks the team into one entry at the Nürburgring. He recovers from Jack Fairman’s trip off the road and wins by just over 40 seconds, making it three in a row there.
- Racing
Le Mans won at last, with a one-two
After years of trying, Roy Salvadori and Carroll Shelby win in DBR1/2, with Maurice Trintignant and Paul Frère second. Moss’s early pace has broken the Ferraris. It remains the marque’s only outright win at the race.
- Racing
World champions after a fire in the pits
At the Goodwood Tourist Trophy a leading DBR1 catches fire while refuelling and burns out the pit. Privateer Graham Whitehead gives up his own race and his pit, Moss jumps into another car, and wins the race and the title.
1960
RacingOut of Formula One
The lighter, independently sprung DBR5 is meant to fix the DBR4’s failings, but results do not improve against the rear-engined cars. Aston Martin gives up after the 1960 season, and both cars are scrapped the following year.
- Racing
A private DBR1 and a young Jim Clark
With the factory gone, Scotland’s Border Reivers run a DBR1 to third at Le Mans for Roy Salvadori and Jim Clark. It is Clark’s first international podium.
- Version
Zagato cuts the DB4 GT down to size
Ercole Spada at Zagato reshapes the DB4 GT into a smaller, lighter and more aerodynamic car, shown at the 1960 London Motor Show. Twenty-five are planned, demand is weaker than expected and only 19 are made.
1961
New modelBrown insists on a four-door Lagonda
Against his general manager’s wishes, David Brown has a four-door saloon built on the DB4, reviving the Rapide name. Touring styles it, and its De Dion rear axle is soon borrowed by a racing car. Production ends in 1964.
1962
RacingDP212: five months from idea to Le Mans
Under pressure from dealers, above all French distributor Marcel Blondeau, John Wyer commissions a one-off based on the DB4 GT. Graham Hill leads the first lap at Le Mans, but a holed piston ends it after about six hours.
Bond, the DB6 and the V8
The works team shuts, a film makes the DB5 world famous, and Marek’s long-awaited V8 finally arrives in a very different body.
1963
New modelDB5: four litres and a five-speed ZF
An evolution of the last DB4, the DB5 gets a 4.0-litre engine with three SU carburettors, and soon a ZF five-speed gearbox. It costs more than double a Jaguar E-type.
- People
Wyer goes to Ford and the race shop closes
Team boss John Wyer accepts Ford’s invitation to join its new sports car effort, after a meeting set up through Carroll Shelby. By November the racing department at Feltham has shut, with David Brown battling tax rules.
- Racing
Project cars: over 300 km/h, and out by half-time
DP215 reaches 198.6 mph on the Mulsanne Straight in qualifying, before its transaxle fails. Both DP214s, entered as GTs on chassis Wyer admitted were illegal, go out with piston failures. It is the last works entry for decades.
1964
DesignGoldfinger makes a star of the DB5
Effects man John Stears persuades Aston Martin to lend its DB5 prototype. With an ejector seat, wheel spinners, revolving plates and more, Sean Connery’s silver car captures filmgoers and ties the marque to James Bond for good.
1965
VersionThe name Volante appears
Leftover DB5 convertible bodies become a run of 37 open cars, the Short Chassis Volante. The name will stay on open Astons from here on.
- New model
DB6: more room and a Kamm tail
Launched at the Paris and London shows, the DB6 has a longer wheelbase, a higher roof and a chopped tail with a spoiler. Wind-tunnel work and the 1960s racers shaped it, but conservative buyers are slow to warm to it.
1966
PeopleA seat designer gets the big job
Touring of Milan builds two prototypes to replace the DB6 and then goes out of business. William Towns, who joined from Rover to design seats, is hastily asked to shape the new car instead.
1967
RacingMarek’s V8 goes racing first, and it hurts
Two Lola T70 coupés of Team Surtees run the new 5-litre V8 at Le Mans and both retire early. Road cars get a 5.3-litre version of the engine two years later.
- New model
DBS: wide, modern, and waiting for its engine
Designed around a V8 that is not ready, the four-seat DBS launches with the DB6’s six-cylinder engine. Its squared grille and fastback rear look nothing like the DB4 to DB6 line.
1969
New modelThe V8 arrives, and it will stay for 30 years
After years of waiting, Marek’s 5,340 cc V8 finally goes on sale in the DBS V8. It adds alloy wheels, ventilated discs and much more weight, and it becomes the core of the company’s range for decades.
- Design
Bond’s DBS, with one gadget
George Lazenby drives a DBS in On Her Majesty’s Secret Service. Its only extra is a compartment for a telescopic rifle. In the final scene Bond’s new wife Tracy is shot dead beside him in the car.
Sold for £101, shut, and saved
David Brown clears the debts and hands over the keys. Emissions rules and recession close the factory within three years, until two North Americans step in.
1972
CompanyDavid Brown clears the debts and sells for £101
With his group in financial trouble, Brown pays off debts said to be about £5 million and hands Aston Martin to Company Developments, a Birmingham investment group led by accountant William Willson, for a nominal £101.
- New model
The DB badge goes
The new owners drop Brown’s initials. Single-headlamp restyling turns the DBS V8 into the plain Aston Martin V8, the first 34 still using old badges, and the six-cylinder car becomes the Vantage until it ends in 1973.
1974
New modelA stretched V8 revives the Lagonda name
A long-wheelbase four-door V8 with a horseshoe grille is shown at the London Motor Show, the first new Lagonda since the Rapide. Too hard to make, it never gets past a handful of cars.
- Company
California and the government close in
Failing California’s emissions tests halts American sales and starves the firm of cash. A request for state aid is turned down, and owners send in cheques. Later government help comes with terms the board finds unacceptable.
- Company
The receivers are called in
Aston Martin voluntarily asks for a receiver, stops production and lays off most of its workers. Recession, the three-day week and lost American sales have done their work, and this time it looks like the end.
1975
CompanyTwo North Americans buy it for £1.05 million
Peter Sprague of National Semiconductor and Toronto hotelier George Minden persuade the receiver to sell. Minden has recently bought six V8s he could not resell if the marque vanished. British investors, including Alan Curtis, soon join.
- Company
Newport Pagnell comes back to life
The factory, shut since December, reopens with about 100 staff under the name Aston Martin Lagonda. Rehired workers first finish 40 cars from existing parts. All they have bought, the Motor Sport reporter says, is a name and a shell.
After the receiver
New North American and British owners keep Newport Pagnell alive with a supercar, a futuristic saloon and a 200 mph dream.
1976
New modelWilliam Towns’s wedge-shaped Lagonda stuns the show crowd
Barely a year after the factory reopened, Aston reveals a four-door saloon that looks like nothing else on the road, with solid-state digital instruments. Deposits pour in, and the cash helps keep the company alive.
1977
New modelThe V8 Vantage arrives, hailed as Britain’s first supercar
Reworked camshafts, bigger valves and carburettors turn the V8 saloon into a 170 mph four-seater. Blanked-off grille and scoop plus a tail spoiler give it a look that matches the numbers.
- Racing
After 13 years away, an Aston V8 is back at Le Mans
Midlands dealer Robin Hamilton leads the return with his own heavily modified V8, RHAM/1. Sharing it with Mike Salmon and David Preece, he brings it home 17th.
1978
VersionThe first V8 Volante brings an open-top Aston back
A long-awaited convertible joins the V8 range, with a power-operated, fully lined hood. It lets the small company answer buyers who want the V8 with an open roof.
- Version
“Oscar India” gives the V8 walnut and a sculpted tail
The V8 saloon gains burr walnut trim, a closed-off bonnet scoop and a rear wing line shaped into an integrated spoiler. The car is the V8’s fourth series and one of its biggest evolutions.
1980
DesignThe one-off Bulldog wedge chases 200 mph
William Towns draws a gullwing, mid-engined wedge with a twin-turbo V8. Aston claims 237 mph, but the fastest recorded run, at MIRA, is 191 mph. Plans for a small series are dropped.
Gauntlett’s years
An oilman who loves cars steers the marque through its leanest years, with Zagato, Le Mans privateers and the return of James Bond.
1981
PeopleOilman Victor Gauntlett takes the wheel at Newport Pagnell
After buying in through Pace Petroleum in 1980, Gauntlett and CH Industrials’ Tim Hearley become joint owners with Gauntlett as executive chairman. An enthusiast rather than an industrialist, he promotes the marque tirelessly.
1982
RacingA privately run Nimrod finishes seventh at Le Mans
Lord Downe’s Aston V8-powered Group C car, driven by Ray Mallock, Simon Phillips and Mike Salmon, climbs as high as fourth and limps home seventh on five cylinders, ahead of the works Nimrod that crashed out.
1983
RacingMichael Cane’s EMKA reaches the Le Mans finish, 17th
A troubled, slow first outing for the Aston-powered EMKA Group C car. It still finishes, 17th of 20 classified cars, and takes the trophy for the first British car home.
1984
CompanyThe Livanos family steadies a company on the brink
Greek shipping tycoon Peter Livanos buys in as Pace’s oil business tightens. George Livanos buys out the Papanicolaous, Gauntlett holds 25% again, and the deal values the firm at about £2 million.
1985
RacingTiff Needell’s EMKA leads Le Mans, then finishes 11th
A clever fuel plan and quick driving put the Aston-powered EMKA at the front in the opening hours. It is Aston power’s last spell in the lead at Le Mans, and the car again wins the trophy for first British car.
1986
New modelGauntlett revives the Zagato link with an angular Vantage
Announced in 1985 and on sale from 1986, the V8 Vantage Zagato brings back the Milan coachbuilder a quarter-century after the DB4 GT. Just 50 coupés and 37 Volantes are built, bringing money and attention.
1987
PeopleJames Bond returns to Aston Martin in The Living Daylights
Gauntlett arranges the comeback with producer Cubby Broccoli and lends his own pre-production Vantage for Timothy Dalton’s first film. Offered a cameo as a KGB colonel, he declines: he has a company to run.
The Ford years
Ford’s money brings the DB7, V12s and the marque’s first purpose-built factory at Gaydon, and Aston goes racing again.
1987
CompanyA weekend at the Mille Miglia brings Ford into Aston Martin
Guests at the same Italian house for the Mille Miglia revival, Gauntlett meets Ford of Europe’s Walter Hayes. By September, Ford has taken 75% of a company that needs a major manufacturer’s money to survive.
1988
New modelThe Virage ends the long reign of the old V8 shape
John Heffernan and Ken Greenley’s coupé debuts at Birmingham: the first truly new Aston in nearly 20 years. Four-valve heads rework the 5.3-litre V8, which needs them to cope with catalytic converters.
1989
RacingThe factory-backed AMR1 finishes 11th on its Le Mans debut
Built by Proteus Technology with Ecurie Ecosse links, the Group C car marks Aston’s return to sports car racing. Redman, Roe and Los go the distance, but the sister car retires and the AMR1 lasts just one season.
1991
PeopleWalter Hayes takes the chair and sells Ford on a small Aston
Ford’s man, the executive behind the Cosworth DFV, succeeds Gauntlett in 1991. In March he pitches a more accessible sports car to Ford’s board, built from a Jaguar engine block in a former JaguarSport factory.
1992
New modelThe Vantage returns as a twin-supercharged brute
Shown at Birmingham in 1992 and built from 1993, the new Vantage shares only its door and roof skins with the Virage. Ford’s resources pay for the engineering of what becomes the V8 flagship.
- Technology
A 6.3-litre Virage brings Aston’s first ABS
The Works Service conversion adds power, brakes and suspension to the Virage, with flared arches. It is the first time an Aston Martin is offered with anti-lock brakes.
1993
New modelThe DB7 brings the DB name back at Geneva
Project NPX, styled by Ian Callum and engineered with Tom Walkinshaw’s TWR, is shown at Geneva. With Sir David Brown’s blessing it revives his initials on a smaller, less expensive Aston meant to sell in every market.
1994
CompanyFord opens Bloxham to build the DB7
Rather than hand-beating panels at Newport Pagnell, the DB7 uses a pressed-steel body at the former JaguarSport site in Oxfordshire. It is built in volumes Aston has never known: around 7,000 by 2004.
1998
DesignThe Project Vantage concept previews the V12 age
A concept car shows what the next flagship could be. Ian Callum’s design leads straight to the V12 Vanquish three years later.
1999
VersionThe 40-car Vantage Le Mans honours the 1959 win
To mark 40 years since the Le Mans victory, Aston builds 40 cars with 600 bhp and 600 lb-ft, restyled bonnets, blanked grilles and magnesium wheels. It is the ultimate version of the V8 flagship.
- Version
A 6.0-litre V12 turns the DB7 into the DB7 Vantage
Geneva sees a heavily revised DB7 with a new 420 bhp V12, bigger grille and 18-inch wheels. By 2002 DB7 output has passed that of all earlier DB models combined.
2000
PeopleUlrich Bez arrives to run Aston Martin
A former adviser to Ford, the engineer takes charge in July 2000. In 13 years the company sells more than 50,000 cars, and the factory workforce doubles within the first seven.
2001
New modelIan Callum’s V12 Vanquish opens a new chapter
Unveiled at Geneva, the flagship pairs a bonded aluminium and carbon-fibre tub with hand-finished panels and a 460 bhp V12 shifted by paddles. Its construction methods pave the way for later road cars.
2002
PeopleThe Vanquish becomes Bond’s car in Die Another Day
Bond gets a specially modified V12 Vanquish for the 2002 film. The role makes the new flagship instantly recognisable, and it is later voted among the best film cars ever.
2003
CompanyGaydon becomes Aston’s first purpose-built factory
After 50 years at Newport Pagnell, production moves to a former RAF V-bomber base in Warwickshire: offices, customer reception and a production hall on 55 acres. It remains the company’s headquarters.
- Design
Detroit sees the AMV8 concept, a smaller V8 sports car
A two-seat V8 concept previews a smaller Aston that will let the company compete in a larger market. Few changes are expected before the production version arrives in 2005.
- New model
The DB9 skips a number and starts the Gaydon era
Revealed at Frankfurt, the DB7’s successor is the first car built at Gaydon. Aston judged the leap so big that “DB8” would undersell it. Its new VH structure becomes the basis for later road cars.
2005
New modelThe V8 Vantage becomes Aston’s best seller
Geneva gets the production two-seater, with a bonded aluminium structure and a classic V8 engine format. It goes on to be the most successful model in Aston Martin’s history.
- Racing
The DBR9 wins its class on its Sebring debut
Aston Martin Racing’s DB9-based GT1 car, built with Prodrive, takes class honours first time out at the 12 Hours of Sebring. Three months later it is third in GT1 at Le Mans.
2006
PeopleCasino Royale’s DBS rolls seven times into the record books
Before it even reaches production, the DBS becomes the car of Daniel Craig’s new Bond. The film’s crash, seven rolls, sets a world record, and the car returns in the opening of Quantum of Solace.
Independent again
Sold by Ford, Aston grows on the VH platform, wins its class at Le Mans, marks its centenary and turns to Mercedes-AMG for engines.
2007
CompanyFord sells Aston Martin to a David Richards-led group
Needing cash for its North American turnaround, Ford sells after 20 years in a deal valuing Aston at £479m. Prodrive’s David Richards fronts two Kuwaiti investors, Adeem and Investment Dar, and Ford keeps £40m of shares.
- Racing
The DBR9 wins GT1 at Le Mans and finishes fifth overall
After the factory team stands down from other races to focus on La Sarthe, David Brabham, Rickard Rydell and Darren Turner take the GT1 class and finish fifth overall, right among the prototypes.
- Company
Car production ends at Newport Pagnell
A Vanquish S driven by long-serving test driver Ken Clarke is the last of nearly 13,000 cars built on Tickford Street since the 1950s. The site carries on as Works Service, looking after older Astons.
- New model
The DBS revives a name at Pebble Beach
The new flagship, already seen in Casino Royale, gets a global reveal at the Pebble Beach Concours in a graphite grey shade with a blue tint. A V12 and carbon ceramic brakes top the range for five years.
2008
RacingA second straight GT1 win at Le Mans
Brabham and Turner return, joined by Antonio García, and win their class again: 13th overall this time. Two years, two GT1 wins for the DB9-based racer.
2009
New modelThe One-77, seventy-seven million-pound hypercars
A covered maquette in Paris in 2008, then the full car at Geneva and a design award at Villa d’Este. Its carbon tub, hand-formed aluminium and 7.3-litre V12 make it the fastest Aston ever at the time, at 220 mph.
- Racing
A Lola-Aston prototype takes fourth overall at Le Mans
Moving up to LMP1 with a Lola powered by the DBR9’s engine, Aston Martin Racing goes after a repeat of 1959. The No. 007 of Jan Charouz, Tomáš Enge and Stefan Mücke finishes fourth, the best of three cars.
2010
New modelThe Rapide gives Aston four doors again, built in Austria
The 2006 concept reaches production as a four-door V12 sports car; Aston’s own history calls it the first with four doors since the 1930s. Magna Steyr in Graz builds it from May 2010, before it moves back to Gaydon in 2012.
2011
New modelThe Cygnet: an Aston Martin city car based on a Toyota
Aston dresses a Toyota iQ with its own grille, leather and aluminium. Three metres long and with 98 PS, it is one of the most unexpected cars ever to carry the wings, and it ends in 2013.
- New model
The V12 Zagato marks fifty years with the Milan coachbuilder
Unveiled at Villa d’Este, where it takes the concept design award, the car is developed with clay maquettes as well as computers. It races at the Nürburgring in Corsa form, with Ulrich Bez among the drivers.
2012
New modelThe Vanquish returns, on the VH platform with carbon panels
Marek Reichman’s Gaydon-built car fills the gap left by the DBS, with exterior panels in carbon fibre. A more powerful Vanquish S follows later.
- Company
Investindustrial pays £150m for 37.5% of Aston Martin
The Italian private equity fund’s money comes in as a capital increase, leaving Investment Dar still involved. Aston plans to invest more than half a billion pounds in new products.
2013
DesignAt 100, Aston builds the CC100 Speedster
The centenary brings an open, back-to-roots concept shown at the Nürburgring 24 Hours in May 2013. Only two are made, and both go to loyal customers.
- Company
Daimler and Aston sign a V8 engine partnership
Mercedes-AMG agrees to help develop bespoke V8s for Aston’s next generation. Daimler receives up to 5% in non-voting shares without paying cash, plus an observer seat on the holding company’s board.
2014
RacingA Vantage wins LMGTE Am at Le Mans
David Heinemeier Hansson, Kristian Poulsen and Nicki Thiim take the amateur class, finishing 19th overall.
- People
Nissan’s Andy Palmer becomes chief executive
The Nissan executive replaces Bez, who stays as non-executive chairman. He later sums up the challenge of the second century: “In the first century we went bankrupt seven times.”
- New model
Ten DB10s are built just for Bond’s Spectre
Sam Mendes unveils the car at Pinewood as “the first cast member”. Eight appear in the film and two are show cars; one of those sells for £2,434,500 at auction, and it previews Aston’s next design direction.
2015
New modelThe track-only Vulcan bows at Geneva
Twenty-four cars, a carbon body and a 7.0-litre V12 developed from the Vantage GT3 racer’s engine. Aston Martin Racing’s suggestion replaces the idea of using the One-77’s 7.3-litre unit.
2016
New modelThe DB11 starts Aston’s renewal at Geneva
The first of a new generation brings a new twin-turbo V12 and, soon after, an AMG V8. The DB9’s 16,500 cars end in July 2016 after twelve years, and DB11 production starts at Gaydon that September.
- Design
Aston and Red Bull announce the AM-RB 001 hypercar
Adrian Newey, on a step back from Formula 1, works with Aston on a road car close to a racing car. The codename joins the two companies; it becomes the Valkyrie.
2017
CompanyOver 5,000 cars and the first profit since 2010
The DB11 helps lift sales to a nine-year high, and Aston posts an £87m pre-tax profit after a £163m loss in 2016. The turnaround opens the way to a stock market listing.
- Racing
Jonny Adam snatches the Le Mans GTE Pro win on the last laps
Corvette’s Jordan Taylor tries repeatedly to get past, then Adam passes the stricken Corvette at the start of the penultimate lap. Adam, Darren Turner and Daniel Serra finish 17th overall.
On the stock market
A flotation that soon disappoints investors, a first SUV, and a new factory in Wales.
2018
New modelThe DBS Superleggera revives the name with 715 bhp
A 715 bhp twin-turbo V12 flagship replaces the Vanquish S. “Superleggera” means “super light” in Italian, a nod to the original 1967 DBS.
- Company
Aston Martin floats on the London Stock Exchange
Priced at £19 a share, valuing the firm at £4.33bn, the shares drop nearly 5% on their first day and keep sliding. It is the start of a painful spell for investors.
2019
New modelThe DBX, Aston’s first SUV, is revealed
The twin-turbo V8 SUV, with a “female advisory board” involved in its development, is the first car to be made at St Athan. It is the company’s bet on new customers.
- Company
St Athan opens as the sole global home of the DBX
Bought in 2016 from the Ministry of Defence, the Welsh site is opened by Andy Palmer and First Minister Mark Drakeford. Prince Charles opens it formally in 2020: the first Welsh-built production car in over 50 years.
Stroll, F1 and hypercars
Lawrence Stroll’s money puts the name on a Formula 1 team, Adrian Newey and Honda arrive, and the Valkyrie and Valhalla reach customers, and Le Mans.
2020
PeopleLawrence Stroll buys in and rebadges his F1 team
The Canadian billionaire pays £182m for 16.7% in a plan to raise £500m and becomes executive chairman. Racing Point will become the Aston Martin works team from 2021.
- People
AMG’s Tobias Moers replaces Andy Palmer
With the company’s value a tenth of its flotation level, Palmer leaves with immediate effect. The former Mercedes-AMG chief starts on 1 August.
- Company
Mercedes agrees to raise its stake towards 20%
In a technology deal that gives Aston access to hybrid and electric drivetrains, Mercedes will lift its holding from 5% to 20% in stages, seven years after first taking a stake.
2021
RacingThe AMR21: Aston’s first F1 car in over 60 years
The team that began as Jordan in 1991, later Force India and Racing Point, races under the Aston name with Sebastian Vettel and Lance Stroll. Aston Martin had left Formula 1 in 1960 with the DBR5.
- Racing
Vettel’s Baku second gives Aston its first F1 podium
From 11th on the grid and on a free choice of tyres, Vettel comes through a chaotic Azerbaijan Grand Prix to finish second. The year’s other bright moment, second in Hungary, is lost to a fuel disqualification.
- Design
Valhalla is redesigned, with an AMG V8 hybrid
Shown as the AM-RB 003 concept in 2019, the mid-engined “son of Valkyrie” returns with a heavy redesign and a V8 from AMG in place of Aston’s own engine plan. Production is capped at 999.
- New model
The first Valkyrie is finished at Gaydon
Five years after the AM-RB 001 announcement, the Cosworth V12 hybrid hypercar enters production; it runs until December 2024. Aston describes it as close to a Formula 1 car without being restricted to the track.
2022
CompanySaudi and Geely money arrives to cut Aston’s debt
A raising of about £650m brings Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund in as a major shareholder. By September China’s Geely has 7.6%, completing a £654m round that pays down large debts.
2023
New modelThe manual V12 Valour marks 110 years
A limited, retro-styled celebration of 110 years, made in a run of 110, with a V12 and a manual gearbox. It sells out quickly and spawns the 38-car Valiant.
- Racing
Fernando Alonso’s AMR23 stuns F1 from the first race
The two-time champion joins and takes a podium on his Bahrain debut, then six in the first eight races. The team’s 280 points are its highest-ever tally, but pace fades and it ends fifth.
- New model
The DB12 trades the V12 for AMG power and a new label
Replacing the DB11, Aston calls it “the world’s first super tourer”. It goes V8-only with a 4.0-litre twin-turbo AMG engine and adds a new in-house infotainment system.
- Company
Lucid will supply motors and batteries, and takes 3.7%
Chosen through what Lucid calls a competitive process, the Californian EV maker will provide electric motors and battery systems for future cars. Geely has just doubled its own stake to about 17%.
2024
PeopleBentley’s Adrian Hallmark is named chief executive
After six years at the top of Bentley, Hallmark, 61, is hired to succeed Felisa, joining by October. He brings more than 25 years’ experience at Bentley, Porsche and Volkswagen.
- New model
A third Vanquish arrives with a brand-new V12
Announced as the DBS Superleggera’s successor, the car keeps a freshly designed twin-turbo V12 just as rivals turn to smaller, electrified engines. A Volante follows.
2025
PeopleAdrian Newey joins Aston Martin in Formula 1
With 12 constructors’ titles behind him, the designer arrives as managing technical partner, his eyes on the 2026 rule change. A new wind tunnel at Silverstone is ready for him.
- Racing
The Valkyrie takes Aston back to the top class at Le Mans
Aston’s first top-class entry since 2011 is a road-derived V12. Both cars see the flag, 12th and 14th, several laps down on the winning Ferrari. The Heart of Racing runs the programme.
2026
CompanyHonda power makes Aston a full works F1 team
For the new 2026 rules the team stops being a Mercedes customer and works directly with Honda’s engineers. Andy Cowell calls the change completely different from running a customer’s black box.
- People
Newey adds team principal to his Aston job
From 2026 Newey runs the team while keeping his technical role, and Andy Cowell moves to chief strategy officer. Honda’s works programme makes it a pivotal year for both roles.
- Company
Aston sells its F1 name rights to Stroll’s team for £50m
In the same announcement as another profit warning, the road-car company permanently sells the right to use its name in Formula 1 to the F1 team, which is controlled by Lawrence Stroll.
- Racing
The No. 007 Valkyrie comes eighth at Le Mans
In its second year, with an all-British trio of Tom Gamble, Ross Gunn and Harry Tincknell, the Valkyrie climbs into the top ten, two laps behind the winner.
- New model
The Valen brings 150 more V12 specials
The Valen is presented as Aston’s most powerful front-engined car, made in a run of 150, with first deliveries due in the second quarter of 2027.
Every model, at a glance
Production years of each road-car generation. Tap a bar to see its notable versions.
Bamford & Martin
Bertelli 1½-litre
Sutherland 2-litre
DB
DBS & V8
Virage & Vantage
Vanquish & DBS
Vantage
Rapide
Lagonda
DBX
Specials & hypercars
Sports racers
Formula One
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