Aston Martin at 100: Continued

August 28, 2013
Story By
John Brooks

Continuing the journey of Aston Martin's 100 years, here's the second part to Driving Line's coverage from the Aston Martin Centenary Concours....

Away from the tracks and the victories, Aston Martin produced a new model, that would propel the marque into superstardom, the DB5. James Bond drove one in films such as 'Goldfinger' and 'Thunderball' creating a brand value that is unique. The example above was used in 'Casino Royale'.

As was this DBS, which has seen better days.

The V8 Volante is also ready for International super-spy action.

Away from the glamour of racing and movies, there was a business to run and after Sir David Brown sold Aston Martin Lagonda, the company struggled for a number of years. In an effort to drum up sales Project K901 was created and became known as 'Bulldog' (barking is one word that springs to mind). There were plans to have a run of 10 or more, but this project was quietly dropped.

Another stylistically 'interesting' model was the Lagonda Series 2. It was surprisingly popular and remained in production from 1978 to 1990. It is certainly distinctive and was actually a practical car to use, even if madly expensive.

Wandering around the groups situated off the main drag unearthed some oddities. Bertone styled a DB4 GT for the 1961 Geneva Salon and created a sensation. Nicknamed the 'Jet' it is unique.

Unlike any other Aston Martin, the Cygnet brings the marque's level of luxury and personalisation to a citycar.

Aston Martin used the celebratory opportunity to show off some of their current product range as well, such as this DB9 Coupé.

Another concept car in association with old friends Zagato, is this DBS Coupé Zagato Centennial.

More Zagato goodness with the beautiful DB7.

The latest coupé in the Anglo-Italian alliance, the V12 Zagato.

Returning back to serious racing, the V12 Zagatos were raced in the 2011 Nürburgring 24 Hours, both entries finished. This was continuing a trend that had started back in 2006 with Aston Martin campaigning this production V8 Vantage N24 Prototype, taking a street car and racing it on the world's toughest track.

Aston Martin returned to International competition in 2005 with the DBR9, taking the GT class win on the car's début at the Sebring 12 Hours. They had to wait for three long seasons to repeat the win at Le Mans.

The competitions department now has a thriving business selling customer racing cars.

The company's heritage in motorsport is used in the marketing of their high performance range.

And there has been a great deal of effort expended on the Centenary celebrations.

The final word goes to the CC100 Speedster Concept that was unveiled at this year's Nürburgring 24 Hours. It makes reference to the DBR1 that won so many great races back in the 50s. Aston Martin CEO, Dr. Ulrich Bez: "This car is more than a simple 'birthday present' to ourselves. It shows the soul of Aston Martin - the thing that differentiates us from all other car makers - is as powerful as ever." If you missed the first part of Aston Martin at 100, read it here.

Aston Martin at 100: Continued

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