Aston Martin Car Reviews

Aston Martin is one of the Britain's premier sports car manufacturers, producing cars of quality, prestige and luxury. The sleek and stylish cars are known throughout the world as James Bond's cars of choice.

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Aston Martin Car Reviews

Aston Martin Overview

Brief History

The company was founded in 1913 by Lionel Martin and Robert Bamford who prepared Singer cars for hill climbing. Following success at the Aston Hill course the name Aston Martin was created in 1914, producing the first car under this brand the following year. Aston Martin continued to focus on racing, making their first appearance at the French Grand Prix in 1922, and later going on to break world speed records at Brooklands.

The company faced bankruptcy in 1924 and was saved by Lady Charmwood, however it failed again in 1925 and the factory closed the following year, with Lionel Martin leaving. For years the company struggled financially and had numerous investors come and go, including Sir David Brown, which was the beginning of the DB series of Aston Martins.

In 1994 the Ford Motor Company acquired the manufacturer, placing it into the Premier Automotive Group (PAG), along with car-makers such as Land Rover, Volvo and Jaguar, and began to increase the level of production. Following the purchase of a new factory, the company were able to generate a record breaking 700 cars for 1995, due to the investment in new manufacturing methods Ford had brought to Aston Martin.

In 2006 Ford were forced to dismantle PAG, and Aston Martin was sold to a consortium led by David Richards (chairman of Prodrive), although Ford still maintain a small stake in the company.

 

Model Range

DBS

The DBS is the latest model to feature the DB name (the previous owner David Brown’s initials). It is a high performance sports car, considered to be the flagship of the Aston Martin brand. It is available either as a coupe or a Volante convertible. The coupe version made an appearance as James Bonds car of choice in Casino Royale.

Rapide

Introduced in 2010, the Rapide is a performance saloon, replacing Aston Martin’s previous 4 door model, the Lagonda, which finished production in 1989. Although this car can seat four it still offers the quality and performance expected from an Aston.

Virage

The Virage is designed to be sit between the DBS and DB9, offering the performance of a sports car, coupled with the comfort of a grand tourer. It is available either as a coupe or a convertible, the Volante model.

DB9

The DB9 began production in 2004 as the successor to the DB7. There are two varieties of the model, the coupe and the Volante convertible. The V12 engine generates 470bhp and is available with either a manual or automatic gearbox.

Vantage (V8 and V12)

The Vantage started production in 2005 and is available in a number of different models, the V8 coupe or roadster, or the V12 coupe. The engine is 4.7 Litres in the V8 model, and 6.0 Litres in the V12, providing plenty of power, and the performance you would expect from a brand with Aston Martin’s pedigree.

Cygnet

The Cygnet is a small city car offered by Aston Martin, designed to be nimble about town and cheap to run. It is based on the Toyota iQ, but with the quality finish you would expect from the legendary British sports car manufacturer.


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