Aston Martin is a luxury sports car manufactured in Britain. The car company derived its name from the two founders, Lionel Martin and Robert Bamford. In 1913, Martin and Bamford decided to make their own car. By 1920, Bamford had left and Aston revitalized the company. The initial cars were all developed to compete on the racing circuit in Europe. The cars were known as the Bertelli cars in the 20s and 30s and included the 1 ½ liter T type the international.
The company struggled financially and stopped car production during the 2nd World War.
After the war, under new leadership of David Brown, the company regained it elite status both on the racing circuit and with consumers. In the 50s, the DB cars were produced for racing and the company had developed a solid track record of success.
In the 70s and 80s, again the company ran into financial trouble and worldwide the sales were diminished. The 80s saw more restructuring and the company was bought by Victor Gauntlet. Gauntlet again revived fame for Aston Martin by supplying the car for the James Bond movies. This was followed by more dealing with Ford who finally took over the company in 1994. During this time period, the DB 7 and the V12 vantage models were produced.
In 2003 Aston Martin released the AMV 8 Vantage Concept car. The vantage had a V8 engine to compete with the large American cars. AM has returned back to the sporting world. Despite all the success, Aston Martin has always struggled financially. In 2007, the corporation was again sold to David Richards and a number of other investors. Today, there are dealerships in China and in 2008, it revealed the Lagonda Marquee. The global economic downturn has not left Aston Martin unscathed. At the end of last year, the company had to lay off more than 1/3rd of its workforce and more are planned for the coming year.
Learn more about Aston Martin at http://www.eurorennen.com and sign up for the Aston Martin Car Show
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