The first car to be named Aston Martin was created by Martin by fitting a four-cylinder Coventry-Simplex engine to a 1908 Isotta Fraschini chassis. They acquired premises in Kensington, London and produced their first car in 1915. Production was delayed however because of the outbreak of the First World War.

After the war the company was restarted and began producing cars under the Aston Martin name, yet soon ran into financial trouble and went bankrupt twice in 1924 and 1925 before finally closing in 1926. By this time both Martin and Bamford had left the company. Aston Martin was restarted by Bill Renwick, Augustus (Bert) Bertelli and a number of rich investors. The company continued to make road and racing cars up until the start of the Second World War when it turned its hand to aircraft components for the war effort.

At the end of the war the company was bought by David Brown and then there followed a period when it really established itself as a company making high quality sports cars that became British icons. The use of an Aston Martin DB5 in the James Bond films of the early 1960’s established the brand worldwide. Despite this success the company continued to change ownership more often than was good for it until in 1995 the Ford Motor company took control.

Under Ford’s ownership the current models were developed; the DB9 coupe and roadster along with the Vantage V8 coupe and Roadster and the fabulous DBS.

Under mounting financial pressure, Ford had to relinquish ownership of Aston Martin in 2007 when it was sold to a consortium led by Prodrive chairman David Richards who purchased the company for £475 million. For the first time in years Aston Martin has a produce range of modern and very desirable cars and a full order book.