25 Facts About Aston Martin

The Aston Martin brand is increasingly being used, mostly through licensing, on other products including a submarine, real estate development, and aircraft.

The first car to be named Aston Martin was created by Martin by fitting a four-cylinder Coventry-Simplex engine to the chassis of a 1908 Isotta Fraschini.

Production could not start because of the outbreak of the First World War, when Aston Martin joined the Admiralty and Bamford joined the Army Service Corps.

Pair had planned to sell their engine to motor manufacturers, but having heard that Aston Martin was no longer in production realised they could capitalise on its reputation to jump-start the production of a completely new car.

In 1936, Aston Martin decided to concentrate on road cars, producing just 700 until World War II halted work.

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New owners pushed Aston Martin into modernising its line, introducing the V8 Vantage in 1977, the convertible Volante in 1978, and the one-off Bulldog styled by William Towns in 1980.

In 1982, Aston Martin was granted a Royal Warrant of Appointment by the Prince of Wales.

In 1988, having produced some 5,000 cars in 20 years, a revived economy and successful sales of limited edition Vantage, and 52 Volante Zagato coupes at £86,000 each; Aston Martin finally retired the ancient V8 and introduced the Virage range.

The DB7 range was revamped by the addition of more powerful V12 Vantage models in 1999, and in 2001, Aston Martin introduced the V12-engined flagship model called the Vanquish which succeeded the aging Virage.

In October 2004, Aston Martin set up the dedicated 12,500 square metres Aston Martin Engine Plant within the Ford Germany Niehl, Cologne plant.

On 1 September 2008, Aston Martin announced the revival of the Lagonda marque, proposing a concept car to be shown in 2009 to coincide with the brand's 100th anniversary.

In December 2008, Aston Martin announced it would cut its workforce from 1,850 to 1,250 due to the economic recession.

On 2 September 2014, Aston Martin announced it had appointed the Nissan executive Andy Palmer as the new CEO with Ulrich Bez retaining a position as non-executive chairman.

In total, Aston Martin will add approximately 10,000 square metres to the plant.

In December 2013, Aston Martin signed a deal with Mercedes-Benz Group to supply the next generation of Aston Martin cars with Mercedes-AMG engines.

In return, Aston Martin will have access to Mercedes-Benz hybrid and electric drivetrain technologies for its future models.

On 26 May 2020, Aston Martin announced that Andy Palmer had stepped down as CEO.

In May 2022, Aston Martin named 76-year old Amedeo Felisa as the new chief executive officer, replacing Tobias Moers.

Since 2015, Aston Martin has sought to increase its appeal to women as a luxury lifestyle brand.

In September 2017, Aston Martin announced that they had partnered with submarine building company Triton Submarines to build a submarine called Project Neptune.

In November 2017, Aston Martin unveiled a special limited edition bicycle after collaborating with bicycle manufacturer Storck.

In July 2018, Aston Martin unveiled the Volante Vision Concept, a luxury concept aircraft with vertical take-off and landing capabilities.

In October 2018, Aston Martin announced it was opening a design and brand studio in Shanghai.

In November 2020, Aston Martin was accused with promoting misinformation about electric vehicles after funding a greenwashing report in conjunction with Bosch and a number of other companies.

The Aston Martin AMR21 was unveiled in March 2021 and became Aston Martin's first Formula One car after a 61-year absence from the sport.

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