prestigious British marque plagued by financial mis-management. Built its first road going car in 1923, then went into receivership in 1924. Rescued by engineers Renwick and Bertilli, the cost of their racing programme would see the company founder again in the early 1930's. Two more ownership changes did not progress things much, until David Brown took control in 1947. His company may have built tractors, but it was now responsible for the manufacture of very desirable sports cars, just ask Bond.
Collector Notes: Aston Martin had a tumultuous career in post-war years, the ownership changing hands almost as often as governments in France. A two-litre sports came to Australia in 1949 and ran until
1951, when the sensational
DB4 hit the scene. As far as this country is concerned, Aston's heyday was during the early 1960s thanks to the expensive but incredibly refined
DB4 series. Open and closed models, powered by a 196 kW six-cylinder engine, provided ultra-performance as well as a rare degree of sophistication. The
DB4 was also the ancestral base of the models which followed - including the DBS and DBS V8 and the DB5 of
1964. The DB6 arrived a year later and stayed until
1970. The oil squeeze and general economic malaise of the 1970s all but put the firm out of business. Its early cars are much sought after but be wary - they are extremely expensive to restore.
Also see: Aston Martin Heritage |
The History of Aston Martin (USA Edition)