Aston Martin

British luxury sports cars and grand tourers with a rich motorsport heritage.

Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings PLC is a British manufacturer of luxury sports cars and grand tourers. Its predecessor was founded in 1913 by Lionel Martin and Robert Bamford. Headed from 1947 by David Brown, it became associated with expensive grand touring cars in the 1950s and 1960s, and with the fictional character James Bond following his use of a DB5 model in the 1964 film Goldfinger. Their grand tourers and sports cars are regarded as a British cultural icon.

Quick Facts

Champion car: DBR1/1

Lore & Background

Aston Martin has been involved in motorsport at various points in its history, mainly in sports car racing, and also in Formula One. The company has survived seven bankruptcies throughout its history.

Reader's Guide

The headquarters and main production of its sports cars and grand tourers are in a 55 acre facility in Gaydon, Warwickshire, England, on the former site of RAF Gaydon, adjacent to the Jaguar Land Rover Gaydon Centre. The old 3.6 acre facility in Newport Pagnell, Buckinghamshire, is the present home of the Aston Martin Works classic car department. The 90 acre factory in St Athan, Wales, serves as the production site of Aston Martin's SUV, the DBX.

Did You Know?

Aston Martin has held a royal warrant as purveyor of motorcars to Charles III since 1982.
The company has over 160 car dealerships in 53 countries.
In 2003 it received the Queen's Award for Enterprise for outstanding contribution to international trade.
The Aston Martin brand is used on other products including a submarine, real estate development, and aircraft.