AM THE ASTON MARTIN MAGAZINE
GREAT BRITISH DESIGN QUEST
A History Of Heritage
ELEGANCE ON SCREEN
B
est known for the elegant lines and
In Ian Fleming’s original Goldfinger
deadly weapons of the DB5 driven
novel, Bond drove an earlier Aston
by Sean Connery as James Bond in the
Martin, a DB3 fitted with such modest
1964 film Goldfinger, ASTON MARTIN
‘extras’ as reinforced bumpers and
has combined racing engines with the
a Colt 45 pistol in a concealed
immaculate bodywork of traditional
compartment.
British coach building in beautiful hand-built sports cars.
To celebrate the French première of
Elegant on the outside, but armed
the 1964 James Bond film Goldfinger,
with deadly weapons by Goldfinger’s
the star of the movie, Sean Connery,
designer Ken Adam, the Aston Martin
drove its most famous prop, a silver
DB5 reflected the stylish brutality of
grey Aston Martin DB5, along the
the early Bond films. Ken Adam took
Avenue des Champs-Elysées in Paris
it further by kitting out the DB5 with
accompanied by sixty women whose
an ejector seat, machine guns, wheel
bodies were painted gold like that
scythe, revolving number plates and
of the voluptuous woman in the title
homing device. The producers vetoed
sequence.
his suggestion of twin flame throwers.
The DB5 was the second choice
The DB5 was the most expensive and
as Bond’s car. The producers had
luxurious British sports car of the day –
plumped for an E-Type Jaguar, the
costing twice as much as an E-Type – yet
car then driven by Adam himself, but
sales soared by nearly 50 per cent after
Jaguar said ‘no’ and
its appearance in Goldfinger and Aston Martin was recognised worldwide as a symbol of 1960s Britain.
they approached David Brown, Aston Martin’s owner. Reluctantly he gave them two production models of the brand new DB5: one to be driven around the movie sets and the other to be customised by Ken Adam.
“Bond, James Bond”
HISTORIC DESIGN
Robert Bamford
T
Lionel Martin
he success of the DB5 was a
Singers had triumphed. In 1919 they
windfall for Aston Martin which
completed their first production car
was founded as a labour of love and
with
had since struggled against fierce
and top speed of 70 mph. It was
competition
better
expensive at £850, and only a few
capitalised rivals. Aston Martin was
models were sold. Bamford left the
founded in 1913 by Robert Bamford
company, and Martin eventually sold
and Lionel Martin, who ran a company
it. After a succession of owners, Aston
selling Singer racing cars but longed
Martin was eventually bought by the
to build a more sophisticated model
Italian-born engineer ‘Bert’ Bertelli
of their own. Martin described their
and moved to Feltham in Middlesex.
objective as: “A quality car of good
Bertelli’s stylish, low-slung racing cars
performance
a
such as the 1930 International rebuilt
car for the discerning owner driver
Aston Martin’s reputattion on the track,
with fast touring in mind, designed,
but he lacked the capital to solve the
developed and built as an individual.
company’s financial problems, and in
They began by fitting a four-cylinder
1932 it was taken over by the wealthy
Coventry-Simplex
the
Sir Arthur Sunderland. He financed
chassis of a 1908 Isotta-Fraschini
the production of the 1934 Ulster with
racing car designed by Ettore Bugatti.
a long, streamlined tail and circular
They named the car Aston Martin
wings. The development of the Ulster
after Lionel Martin and the Aston
had begun under ‘Bert’ Bertelli, and
Clinton hill climb racing course
it became one of the most popular
where their
racing cars of the 1930s.
from
and
bigger,
appetarance:
engine
to
a
Coventry-Simplex
engine
Aston Martin floundered after World
Brown’s
War II until it was taken over in 1947
Martin
by
Brown
Salmon & Sons, a prestigious coach
(1904-1993), who had made a fortune
builder founded in 1820 with a
from his family’s tractor company.
skilled workforce at its factory in the
After spotting an advertisement in The
Buckinghamshire town of Newport
Times for a “high class motor business,
Pagnell. Aston Martin’s production was
Brown paid £20,000 for Aston Martin.
moved there. In 1957 the company
His priority was to develop new
achieved Brown’s ambition of winning
models and the DB1 – named after his
Le Mans outright. Admired for the
own initials – was launched in 1948,
quality of its hand-built bodywork and
followed by the DB2 in 1950 and DB3
racing engines, Aston Martin was still
in 1951. In the same year that he bought
the preserve of motoring enthusiasts.
Aston Martin, Brown also acquired
Despite Brown’s efforts, he could not
Lagonda, another British racing car
succeed in realising the commercial
maker renowned for its engines. The
value of its racing triumphs to the
DB2 included a powerful 2580cc
same extent as Jaguar was doing with
the
industrialist
David
Lagonda engine with bodywork styled by Lagonda-trained Frank Feeley. It was one of Aston Martin’s e engine, which could be bought for £100 more than the standard 107hp one.
backing and
in
stabilised 1955
he
Aston bought
NEW FUTURE
I
n the late 1950s Brown decided to
to develop the 1964 DB5 with a 4
revitalise Aston Martin’s styling by
litre engine at Newport Pagnell. The
commissioning Carrozzeria Touring,
company had pulled out of motor
a
design
racing the previous year and the
studios, to create the bodywork for the
DB5 was Brown’s chance to establish
saloon version of the DB4. The gently
Aston Martin as a road car marque.
sloping bonnet and roof of the 1958
Despite his initial doubts, the call
DB4, coupled with its wraparound
from the James Bond film producers
windshield and bumpers, combined
could not have been better timed.
the brio of Italian styling with the
The DB6 was launched in 1965 as
graceful elegance of traditional British
the first four-seater Aston Martin, and
bodywork.
or
remained in production until 1970. The
super-lightweight technique of body
convertible version, the Volante, was
construction – by rolling aluminium
the first European car to sport a power-
panels over steel tubes – produced
operated roof. The DBS followed in
the DB4’s gentle curves, and beneath
1967 as a heavy grand tourer with a
its bonnet was a twin-cam, straight-
4 litre six cylinder engine, upgraded
six 3.7 litre Vantage engine developed
in 1969 to the exceptionally powerful
fashionable
The
Italian
car
superleggera,
by Tadek Marek. Two years later Brown turned to another carrozzeria, Zagato, to create the zestier DB4GT with distinctive bubble headlights. This was to provide the inspiration for Aston Martin’s British design engineers
5.3 litre four-cam V8 engine. David
which was unveiled at the 1993
Brown sold Aston Martin in 1972 and
Geneva Motor Show. When David
the company entered another period
Brown was shown the design he
of frequent changes in ownership
agreed that it could bear his DB
when it had neither the will, nor
initials. The DB7 was a critical and
the capital, to regain its lost glory.
commercial success, and in 1995
Nonetheless the marque survived and
Aston Martin produced over 700 cars
in 1987 Aston Martin was acquired
for the first time in its history. Five
by the Ford Motor Company. By the
years later, over 2000 models had
time Ford took over, Aston Martin’s
been made. The revitalised Aston
resources were so depleted that it no
Martin unveiled the V12 Vanquish,
longer had the capability to develop
designed and built at Newport
new models. Ford invested heavily
Pagnell, at the 2001 Geneva Motor
to rebuild its design, research and
Show and 2004 saw the launch of the
manufacturing facilities, as well in
5.9 litre DB9.
the sourcing of components and materials. It also bought a specialist paint and assembly plant at Bloxham in Oxfordshire. An in-house design team led by Ian Callum developed a new model, the DB7,
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