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Aston Martin Lagonda Limited
 
Photo from the Ford Motor Company Archives


Aston Martin Lagonda Limited dates to 1914, when Lionel Martin and
Henry Bamford, who were Singer dealers in London, decided to build their
own car. They mounted a 1.4-liter four-cylinder Coventry Simplex engine in
an Isotto Fraschini chassis and called it Aston Martin. The intervention of
World War I ensured that the first Aston Martin was not completed until
1915. The first cars offered to customers did not appear until 1923 when
Count Louis Zborowski of "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang" fame agreed to
finance the company. Aston Martin changed hands several times between
the wars passing from one enthusiastic but financially struggling owner to
another. In 1947, Aston Martin was offered to David Brown (later Sir
David) who shortly after acquiring the company also purchased Lagonda. In
1950, the Aston Martin DB2 powered by a Lagonda designed engine was
equal first in the index of performance and the winner of the 3.0-liter class in
Le Mans 24-hour race for sports cars. In 1959, both competition and sales
success followed when the Aston Martin DBRI won the Le Mans 24-hour
race as well as the Sports Car Constructors Championship -- The World
Championship. During this time, a series of DB models were introduced
culminating in the DB6. However in 1972, David Brown put the company
up for sale. Although the company passed through several different hands in
the following 15 years, a series of new, successful products were developed
including the radical wedge-shape William Towns-designed Lagonda with
its advanced electronic systems. In 1987, Ford bought 75 percent of Aston
Martin Lagonda and the remaining shares in July 1994. In addition to
providing financial security, Ford enables Aston Martin to gain access to its
worldwide technical, manufacturing and supply systems for the design and
development of new products. The company remains small with about 500
employees, and manufacturing centers at Newport Pagnell in
Buckinghamshire and Bloxham in Oxfordshire. The 550-horsepower,
twin-supercharged Vantage and the 350-horsepower V-8 Coupe and
Volante models are built at Newport Pagnell, while the Bloxham facility is
dedicated solely to the Aston Martin DB7. Introduced at the Geneva
International Auto Show in March 1993, when it was named Car of the
Show, the Aston Martin DB7 is powered by a 335-horsepower
supercharged 3.2-liter in-line six-cylinder engine. While taking full
advantage of modern materials and technology, it reflects the classic lines of
previous DBX models. Now entering its third full year of production, the
Aston Martin DB7 has become the most successful car ever to be
produced by Aston Martin. The 1,000th Millennium model -- a silver DB7
Volante -- was completed in October 1996 for delivery to a customer in
the U.S. where almost 30 percent of all Aston Martins are now sold.


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