Brief History About Aston Martin
Aston Martin was founded in 1913 in London by Robert Bamford and Lionel Martin, originally as Bamford and Martin Ltd and then as Aston Martin in 1914, inspired by successful racing at the Aston Hill Climb.
Bamford left the company in 1920 and with various investments, namely from Lady Charnwood, the company continued, but eventually due to difficulties, the factory closed in 1926 with Lionel Martin also leaving the company. Under Lady Charnwood and now with Augustus Bertelli on-board, the company is given the name ‘Aston Martin Motors’ and together they build engines and cars and even race them to some degree of success, until again financial difficulties in 1932, mean more investors/owners come and go, with little happening until after WW2.
After the war and in 1947 David Brown Limited buys the Aston Martin company and also acquires the Lagonda company. The 2 companies merged and produced the ‘DB’ series of cars. Yet again however by 1972 the company was in financial difficulties and various investors came and went, although some new life was being breathed into it with the introduction of the V8 Vantage in 1977 and the Royal Warrant of Appointment being made in 1982. More investors and company owners come and go throughout the 80’s and there’s even a reintroduction into motorsport for a time.
In 1994 Ford took over the company and introduced a degree of automation, were as before, all work was carried out by hand. With the new factories, there was an increase in production and engine development. Motorsport was also brought back in 2005 with Aston Martin Racing. However in 2006 Ford needed to re-evaluate some of its investments, which included Aston Martin.
In 2007 the majority of Aston Martin is sold to a consortium, led by David Richards. Aston Martin expands into Asia and Europe and there’s also much outsourcing and company changes made to increase growth, including making Gaydon, Warwickshire its main headquarters. In 2008 the Lagonda name is reintroduced. In 2012 37.5% of the company was bought by an Italian private equity fund Investment company. In 2013 a deal is struck with Daimler AG for supply new Mercedes-AMG V8 engines, and electrical systems.
Aston Martin are currently investing and partnering with numerous other companies in many different areas outside of car manufacturing to create a global luxury lifestyle brand.
