Aston plots year-long centenary celebrations
British sportscar manufacturer chalks up 100th birthday and plans to celebrate with year-long partyAston Martin was recently in the news due to Investindustrial acquiring a significant stake in the company, and now the storied British carmaker has announced plans to chalk up its centenary with a year-long schedule of celebrations.
Established in 1913, Aston Martin has endured a chequered history – filled with some notable deeds on the track and silver screen – as well as periods where the very existence of the company seemed in peril.
Unlike several of its fellow British brands, Aston has managed to survive its darkest days and the latest buy-in by Investindustrial appears to have secured its medium-term future with an injection of funds and a possible technology tie-up with Mercedes-Benz’s AMG division.
To symbolise its 100th birthday, Aston Martin has conjured up a centenary logo (pictured) designed to commemorate the marque’s past and look ahead to the future.
The centenary festivities begin on January 15 when Aston Martin will present a plaque at the company’s original headquarters at Chelsea’s Henniker Mews in London, with a new Vanquish appearing alongside the third car the automaker ever produced – a prototype named A3.
Later that same evening, the Aston Martin Heritage Trust Walter Hayes Memorial Lecture will take place in central London with A3 and Vanquish again guest starring alongside actor Sir John Standing as Lionel Martin (Aston Martin founder), telling the story of his early days and his experience of making the first Aston Martin.
From July15-21, Aston Martin will have more celebrations at its current headquarters in Gaydon, and this will include a car show with as many as 1000 vehicles in attendance – making it the largest gathering of Aston Martins in the automaker's history.
Other events include a James Bond-inspired drive through England and Wales making site stops for past 007 movies, and there will be a driving event in California preceding this year’s Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance in August.
Aston Martin: a quick overview
On January 15, 1913, Lionel Martin and Robert Bamford founded a new automotive venture and called their company Bamford & Martin – it later became Aston Martin, acknowledging Robert Bamford’s success at the Aston Clinton Hillclimb, where he had successfully raced their very first cars.
In Aston Martin’s first 90 years the company built fewer than 15,000 cars. The open-bodied two-seater sports specials of the pre-war years gave way to the David Brown era of the 1950s and beyond which saw the introduction of the iconic DB2/4, DB4, DB5, DB6 and DBS, before the V8 Vantage and Virage led Aston Martin to the DB7, original Vanquish and on into the modern era.
The original DB9 and Vantage were joined in recent years by the Rapide, V12 Vantage, low-volume One-77 and now the revised DB9 and Vanquish – Aston Martin’s latest flagship sports car.
Aston Martin is now more focused on the international market than in the past, exporting 75 per cent of its annual production around the world to 146 dealerships in 41 countries.
The below video features Aston Martin boss Ulrich Bez talking about the company's 100th anniversary celebrations.
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