The original specification of the cars made by Lionel Martin was "a quality car of good performance and appearance: a car for the discerning owner driver with fast touring in mind". The first car produced by Robert Bamford and Lionel Martin was completed in 1913 and was originally designed to be a competitor to Bugatti. It had an Isotta-Fraschini chassis and was powered by a 1400 cc Coventry Simplex engine coupled to a four-speed gearbox. This combination allowed the car a top speed of 70 mph and was manufactured by Bamford & Martin Limited of Abingdon Road, Kensington, in London. After the 1914/18 War, the Company was refinanced by Count Zborowski and taken over completely by Lionel Martin on the retirement of Robert Bamford. The outstanding motoring competition of that time was the Aston Clinton Hill Climb at which Lionel Martin's cars had great success - hence by combining the two names, Aston Martin was born. In 1920 it was decided that Aston Martin should be a thoroughbred, being designed, developed, engineered and built as an individual car. It is a principle which still exists today. During the period 1921/26 a few four-cylinder twin overhead camshaft-engined cars were raced successfully all over Europe and on 24th May 1922, an Aston Martin known affectionately as "Bunny" broke world records at Brooklands during a run of 16-1/2 hours, averaging 76.20 mph. So outstanding was this performance that the marque received international acclaim. By 1924 the Company was offering a side valve four-cylinder sports touring model which soon gained a reputation for long life and reliability. .C. Bertelli took over Aston Martin in the mid twenties and with W.S. Renwick designed a new 1-1/2 litre car for production which featured an overhead camshaft engine and later, dry sump lubrication. The famous international model had evolved by 1930 and this established new standards of roadholding and handling at that time, leading the sports car trend up to the Second World War. Bertelli upheld a vigorous and successful competition program and in 1932 he and Driscoll won the Biennial Cup at Le Mans. Martin and Brackenbury again won the cup in 1935 and established a 1-1/2 litre class record which was not broken until 1950. Towards the end of 1932 the Company had passed to R.G. Sutherland and 1934 saw the Mark II from which was developed the famous Ulster model. The engine capacity was increased to 2-litres in 1936 and the 15/98 was introduced in saloon and open four-seater versions. Early in 1939 a prototype was constructed using, for the first time on an Aston Martin model, independent front suspension and the Cotal Electric gearbox. This car, known as the Atom, never got into production before the the War and in 1945 it was decided to produce an easily serviced two-litre pushrod engined car. In 1947 the Company was in financial difficulties and was bought by the then Mr. David Brown, Chairman of the David Brown Corporation. Gordon Sutherland and designer Claude Hill remained on the Board and by 1948 the Two-Litre was in production in 2/4 seater drop-head form. It was decided to enter one of the two-seaters in the Spa 24-hour sports car race that year and, driven by Leslie Johnson and St John Horsfall, the car won outright. At this time the original Lagonda Company was also acquired by the David Brown Corporation. Despite its continental sounding name, the Lagonda car had always been a British production car, the name being an echo of Wilbur Gunn's early life at Lagonda Creek, Springfield, Ohio. Lagonda is American Indian, meaning 'smooth running stream'. In 1898 Gunn produced a single-cylinder motor cycle, the first of these being made on the lawn of his house at Staines, the site that was to become the Lagonda factory. From motor cycles Gunn developed in 1904 the early Lagonda Tricars and in 1908 he won the London to Edinburgh reliability trial, earning himself the Gold Medal for that year. Lagonda cars have always been in the forefront of design development, the 1909 model, for example, being the first British car to join an all steel body and chassis in one unit. The Lagonda Company produced a high performance 11 hp light car which was regularly successful in trials and other competitions and in 1921 one such model covered 79.19 miles in an hour to win the Light Car Trophy of that year. The year of 1926 saw the introduction of the high effiency twin-cam 2-litre model and in 1930 Lagonda pioneered supercharging to achieve no less that 90 mph with a highly flexible engine of only 14 hp, RAC rating and a quoted fuel consumption of 20 mpg. Further enhancing their reputation in the racing world, Lagonda entered the RAC Tourist Trophy in 1934 and their two 4-1/2-litre, 6-cylinder models took 2nd and 3rd places in the unlimited class. The following year a similar model won the Le-Mans 24-hour race, covering 1,868.42 miles at an average speed of 77.85 mph. The famous V12 Lagonda, introduced in 1937, was a massively powerful model with independent front suspension and many other advanced features. Britain's leading coachbuilders competed with one another to build superlative bodies for this magnificent chassis and they are still admired today. Evidence of the high performance of this model is the fact that in 1938 a standard V12 saloon covered 101.5 miles in an hour including a stop to change a tyre. This achievement constituted a notable record since the V12 was the first production closed car to exceed 100 miles in one hour and in 1939 two standard V12's finished 3rd and 4th at Le Mans. After the war, Lagonda had developed a new model with independent suspension on all four wheels and a 2.6-litre 6-cylinder twin overhead camshaft engine designed by the great W.O. Bentley. Both marques were now producing cars with the chassis and running gear being made at Hanworth Park, Feltham, near London Airport. The engines were being made at Farsley in Yorkshire and the coachwork was contracted to Mulliners in Birmingham. It was then that David Brown decided to buy the Tickford Company of Newport Pagnell in Buckinghamshire. The offices and factory site of the Aston Martin Lagonda Company Limited at Newport Pagnell today occupies the original site of Salmon and Sons Limited, coachmakers to the Nobility, who started business in 1820. Salmons flourished in the late 19th century and became famous up until the Second World War for their distinctive fabric body designs on many of the famous models of the day. After the war the Squire of Newport Pagnell, Ian Boswell, bought the Company to form Tickford Motor Bodies, who undertook to contract motor body manufacture until its acquisition by David Brown. In 1950 it was decided to use the 2.6-litre engine on both cars. The Aston Martin DB2 was introduced in April, featuring independent trailing link suspension and in that year the DB2 took equal first index of Performance at Le Mans and won the 3-litre class. The 3-litre engine was introduced as standard in all models shortly after the introduction of the DB2-4, which had two occasional rear seats. In 1955 the Aston Martin DB Mk III series superseded the DB2/4 and featured disc brakes, developed and pioneered by Aston Martin on the race tracks of the world, being the first production car to be so equipped. Throughout that time, since Aston Martin's success at Spa in 1948, the racing program continued with the racing division at Hanworth Park. The culmination of Aston Martin's post-war entry into international motor racing was the phenomenal success enjoyed by the DBR1/300 models which won the World Sports Car Championship in 1959. From 1956 to 1959 only four DBR1's were built, but these cars Aston Martin won six World Championship races, set five lap records and used only five 3-litre engines. These cars, with their original engines, are still being raced today in historic classes. The DB4 was introduced in 1958 at the London Motor Show. This car was on a completely different chassis concept from its predecessors, being the platform chassis as opposed to the space frame of previous post-war models. A variation of the platform chassis was also used on the Lagonda Rapide, which was produced between 1960 and 1963. In late 1963, following an outright win at Monza by Roy Salvadori in the racing GT Aston Martin, it was decided to withdraw from racing and concentrate on refining the Aston Martin range. In October of that year, the DB5 was introduced, offering an alternative automatic transmission to the five-speed manual gearbox. A convertible version was also available and production was doubled to meet world demand. Probably the most famous DB5 was the car converted for the use of Ian Flemming's fictional character, James Bond. It incorporated machine guns, passenger ejector seat, hydraulic overrider rams and had ejecting equipment for oil, nails and smoke. It was featured in the films "Goldfinger" and "Thunderball". The DB6 was introduced in 1965 as an interim model until such time as the Company could introduce a totally new model, but the demand exceeded all expectations and after the DBS and the DBS V8 had been introduced, there was still a customer demand for this car until production was finished in early 1971. During the production run of the DB6, the convertible version was known as Volante and this was the first European car to be manufactured with a power-operated hood. The DBS, introduced in September 1967, was the biggest advance in Grand Touring styling and design since the DB4 and broke with the established traditions in that it was styled and designed at Newport Pagnell. It was introduced with the 6-cylinder 4-litre engine and two years later became available with the V8 engine of 5.4-litres. In 1971 it became apparent to the David Brown Corporation that Aston Martin Lagonda was not going to be able to fit in their long-term plans and the decision was taken to sell the Company. On 16 February 1972 Company Developments, a Birmingham-based group of businessmen, acquired the whole of the issued share capital, Sir David Brown retaining a seat on the Board of Directors and becoming President of the Company and Mr William Willson becoming the new Chairman. Production of the DBS and DBSV8 continued until May 1972, when modified versions of the two cars appeared and with them, the deletion of the reference to DB. The revised models were renamed the Aston Martin Vantage, the six-cylinder car, now available only with the high performance Vantage engine and the Aston Martin V8. Both cars had revised frontal treatment, using two larger headlamps in place of the original four small ones. The following year saw the production of the last six-cylinder car and the change from the original fuel injection on the V8 to carburettors. In 1974 Company Developments decided to sell Aston Martin Lagonda and at the end of that year production was halted whilst a buyer was sought. In June 1975 possession of the Company was secured by North Americans Peter Sprague and George Minden, shortly to be joined by Englishman Alan Curtis. Immediate plans were put in hand to revitalize the Company and a direct result of this was the appearance of the new Aston Martin Lagonda at Earls Court in 1976. With coachwork by William Towns, who had previously styled the DBS, its strikingly modern appearance and very advanced specification made a considerable impact. The following year saw the introduction of a very high performance version of the V8, called the Aston Martin V8 Vantage. In June 1978 a convertible version of the standard car, called the Volante, was unveiled, initially for the export market, to be followed in October by a revised version of the standard car, giving it a more refined appearance and even more luxurious interior. March 1980 saw the appearance of another very advanced car which was to be known as the Bulldog. This was a 2-seater giving ultra-high performance again styled by William Towns but having its engine amidships and using gull-wing doors. The basis of the engine was the standard 5.4 unit, using a fuel injection system similar to the original but with the addition of twin turbochargers. It too, like the Lagonda, had digital instrumentation. In the same year the Lagonda came into full production. The early 1980's saw Aston Martin Lagonda change hands once again, for in January Pace Petroleum - a private petroleum distribution company led by Victor Gauntlett - and C.H. Industrials, a public Company chaired by Tim Hearley, took control. Both had in fact joined the board the previous year. The name Aston Martin has been continuously associated with motor racing since the Company's earliest days and ceased only when David Brown withdrew in 1963, due, in part, to steeply climbing costs. In 1982 the Company took a step back into the competition field through an association with Nimrod Racing Automobiles. This was a small joint concern, started by Robin Hamilton, who ran an Aston Martin distributorship in Staffordshire, and Victor Gauntlett, and was formed to run cars in the World Endurance Championship class of racing. Aston Martin supplied racing engines and back-up services to Nimrod, and at the end of their first competition year Nimrods finished third in the Championship, having finished seventh in general classification at Le Mans. In July 1983, Automotive Investments - distributors of Aston Martin and Lagonda cars in the United States - purchased the Pace Petroleum shares in the Company. Under the agreement, Automotive Investments owned 55 per cent of Aston Martin Lagonda, with C.H. Industrials owning the remaining shares. Mr Gauntlett remained with the Company as Executive Chairman. In February 1984, C.H. Industrials sold their remaining shares to Automotive Investments who controlled 100 per cent ofthe Company until October 1984, when the family of Peter Livanos took 75 per cent, and Mr. Gauntlett 25 per cent. In March 1986, Aston Martin unveiled the 300 kph Vantage Zagato, of which just 50 would be built. In the following year a convertible version was unveiled and this was destined to be an even rarer car, for just 35 were produced. The year of 1987 was also notable for two other events. Aston Martin again teamed up with James Bond in 'The Living Daylights'. In September of 1987 it was announced that Ford were to purchase 75 per cent of the Company's shares, with the remaining 25 per cent being owned equally by the Livanos family and Mr Gauntlett, who was to stay as Executive Chairman and Chief Executive. In October 1988, the Virage was unveiled at the British Motor Show. Designed to take the Company into the 21st century, this 155 mph, two-door, 2+2 replaced the V8, which had been in production for 20 years. The all-new British-styled Virage contained a number of innovative features, yet retained the style and craftsmanship so long associated with the marque. In September 1991, long-serving Executive Chairman Victor Gauntlett resigned and was replaced by Walter Hayes, a former Vice-Chairman of Ford of Europe. The year of 1992 was a busy one for the Company, with the announcement of a 6.3-litre conversion of the Virage in January, and the unveiling of a Shooting Brake version at the Geneva Show in March. That show also saw the debut of the production version of the Virage Volante.