Histories
The history of eleven car marques
Who founded each marque, when, and who owns it today, with the people, the sales and the arguments that shaped it. Every history lists its sources and says where they disagree.
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Who founded each marque, and who owns it now?
| Marque | Founded | Founded by | Owner today |
|---|---|---|---|
| Porsche | 1931 | Ferdinand Porsche, Anton Piëch and Adolf Rosenberger | Volkswagen AG (majority); Porsche SE holds 25% plus one voting share |
| Ferrari | 1929 | Enzo Ferrari (racing team, 1929; first Ferrari car, 1947) | Ferrari N.V., publicly listed; Exor is the largest shareholder |
| Lamborghini | 1963 | Ferruccio Lamborghini | Volkswagen Group, under AUDI AG |
| Aston Martin | 1913 | Lionel Martin and Robert Bamford | Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings plc, London-listed; Yew Tree Consortium holds about 33% |
| Bugatti | 1909 | Ettore Bugatti | Bugatti Rimac: Rimac Group 55%, a HOF Capital-led consortium 45% |
| Bentley | 1919 | W.O. Bentley and his brother H.M. Bentley | Volkswagen Group, within the Audi Group |
| McLaren | 1963 | Bruce McLaren | Road cars: CYVN Holdings. McLaren Racing: Mumtalakat (majority), CYVN (minority) |
| Pagani | Early 1990s | Horacio Pagani | Pagani family (control); Saudi Arabia’s PIF (minority) |
| Koenigsegg | 1994 | Christian von Koenigsegg | Unlisted: the founder and his wife about 75%; Chieftain Capital about 6% |
| Rolls-Royce | 1906 | Charles Rolls and Henry Royce | BMW Group (Rolls-Royce Motor Cars) |
| Maserati | 1914 | Alfieri, Ettore and Ernesto Maserati | Stellantis |
Written from makers’ archives, period reports and reference works, checked claim by claim. We are an independent publication, not affiliated with, sponsored or endorsed by any car manufacturer.
The histories
History of Porsche
Founded: 1931
Porsche is a German sports car maker based in Stuttgart-Zuffenhausen. Ferdinand Porsche, Anton Piëch and Adolf Rosenberger founded it as a design office on 25 April 1931; the first Porsche-named car followed in 1948. Volkswagen AG is the majority owner today, and Porsche SE holds 25 per cent plus one share of the voting stock.
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History of Ferrari
Founded: 1929
Ferrari is an Italian maker of sports and racing cars based in Maranello. Enzo Ferrari founded his racing team in Modena in 1929, and the first Ferrari car, the 125 S, ran in 1947. Ferrari N.V. is publicly listed; Exor, the Agnelli family holding company, is its largest shareholder, followed by Piero Ferrari’s trust.
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History of Lamborghini
Founded: 1963
Lamborghini is an Italian maker of high-performance sports cars and SUVs, founded in 1963 by the tractor manufacturer Ferruccio Lamborghini and based in Sant’Agata Bolognese. Its first production car was the 350 GT of 1964. Since 1998 it has been part of the Volkswagen Group, under the management of AUDI AG.
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History of Aston Martin
Founded: 1913
Aston Martin is a British maker of luxury sports cars, founded as Bamford & Martin by Lionel Martin and Robert Bamford in Kensington, London, on 15 January 1913. Based at Gaydon, Warwickshire, it belongs to London-listed Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings plc, whose largest shareholder group is Lawrence Stroll's Yew Tree Consortium, with about 33%.
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History of Bugatti
Founded: 1909
Bugatti is a French maker of very high-performance cars, founded in 1909 by the Milan-born Ettore Bugatti at Molsheim in Alsace, then German territory, where its cars are still built. Since 2021 it has belonged to Bugatti Rimac, based in Croatia: Rimac Group controls 55% and a HOF Capital-led consortium holds the other 45%.
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History of Bentley
Founded: 1919
Bentley is a British luxury car maker founded in London in 1919 by W.O. Bentley and his brother H.M. Bentley. It has won Le Mans six times. Rolls-Royce bought it in 1931, Vickers in 1980 and Volkswagen in 1998. It remains Volkswagen-owned, within the Audi Group since 2022, and is based in Crewe, England.
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History of McLaren
Founded: 1963
McLaren is a British racing team and supercar maker founded by the New Zealand driver Bruce McLaren in 1963 and based in Woking, England. Abu Dhabi’s CYVN Holdings owns the road car business. McLaren Racing is majority-owned by Bahrain’s sovereign wealth fund Mumtalakat, with CYVN holding a minority stake.
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History of Pagani
Founded: Early 1990s
Pagani is an Italian maker of hand-built carbon-fibre hypercars, based in San Cesario sul Panaro near Modena. Argentine-born Horacio Pagani founded it in the early 1990s out of his composites firm, Modena Design. Its first car, the Zonda C12, appeared in 1999. The Pagani family holds control, with Saudi Arabia’s PIF a minority shareholder.
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History of Koenigsegg
Founded: 1994
Koenigsegg Automotive AB is a Swedish maker of limited-run hypercars, founded on 12 August 1994 by Christian von Koenigsegg, then 22, and based at a former air force base in Ängelholm since 2003. It is unlisted; the founder and his wife Halldora control about 75% of the shares, and US-based Chieftain Capital holds about 6%.
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History of Rolls-Royce
Founded: 1906
Rolls-Royce is a British luxury car marque. Charles Rolls and Henry Royce met in Manchester on 4 May 1904 and incorporated Rolls-Royce Limited on 15 March 1906. Today's Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, based at Goodwood in West Sussex, is a wholly owned BMW Group subsidiary, unrelated to the aero-engine maker Rolls-Royce plc.
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History of Maserati
Founded: 1914
Maserati is an Italian maker of luxury sports and grand touring cars, founded in Bologna on 1 December 1914 by the brothers Alfieri, Ettore and Ernesto Maserati. Based in Modena since 1940 and known for its trident badge, it has been owned since 2021 by Stellantis, the group formed by Fiat Chrysler and PSA.
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