Aston Martin
Aston Martin was founded by Lionel Martin and Robert Bamford. Martin raced specials at the Aston Hill near Aston Clinton, and the pair decided to make their own vehicles. 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. They acquired premises at Henniker Place in Kensington and produced their first car in March 1915. Production could not start because of World War I and Martin joined the Admiralty and Bamford the Royal Army Service Corps. The company was refounded in 1920 and Bamford left the company, which went bancrupt four years later. But then it was bought out by Lady Charnwood but still the company failed. Then a board of rich investors including Lady Charnwood bought the company, but production stopped at WW2. After the war Sir David Brown bought the company and made the first cars with the 'DB' initials. The company created cars from the DB2 to the DBS V8 (1967-72). At last Aston Martin was fully born.
