92-528: The Aston Martin Owners Club ( AMOC , pronounced am-oc ) is a club for owners of Aston Martin automobiles, established in England in 1935. It is one of the oldest one-make car enthusiast clubs , and also one of the largest by worldwide membership. The club was found by Mortimer Morris-Goodall. Morris-Goodall had won an automobile race aged 20, and met Bert Bertelli shortly after, eventually purchasing
184-522: A 12.5% stake in Aston Martin for £500,000 via Pace Petroleum in 1980, with Tim Hearley of CH Industrials taking a similar share. Pace and CHI took over as joint 50/50 owners at the beginning of 1981, with Gauntlett as executive chairman. Gauntlett also led the sales team, and after some development and publicity when the Lagonda became the world's fastest four-seater production car, was able to sell
276-840: A 55-acre (22 ha) facility in Gaydon , Warwickshire, England, on the former site of RAF Gaydon , adjacent to the Jaguar Land Rover Gaydon Centre . The old 3.6-acre (1.5 ha) facility in Newport Pagnell , Buckinghamshire is the present home of the Aston Martin Works classic car department, which focuses on heritage sales, service, spares and restoration operations. The 90-acre (36 ha) factory in St Athan , Wales features three converted 'super-hangars' from MOD St Athan , and serves as
368-629: A 600-year-old grange barn in Drayton St. Leonard , Oxfordshire , to act as its new headquarters. The first stage of the work to refurbish the barn started during 1999 and was completed in 2001, with the club relocating that year from its previous base in Sutton-in-the-Isle . In March 2002, John Dawnay, president since 1980, died, and his wife Diana became the new president. The new headquarters at Drayton St. Leonard in Oxfordshire
460-784: A British cultural icon. Aston Martin has held a royal warrant as purveyor of motorcars to Charles III (as Prince of Wales and later as King) since 1982, and has over 160 car dealerships in 53 countries, making it a global automobile brand. The company is traded on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index . In 2003 it received the Queen's Award for Enterprise for outstanding contribution to international trade. The company has survived seven bankruptcies throughout its history. The headquarters and main production of its sports cars and grand tourers are in
552-482: A Chinese take-away and chip shop, a fish and chip shop, a pub "Chequers", a family run garage and a motor repair centre. There is also a GP surgery. The old butcher's shop in the High Street became a deli, with seating for food and beverages. but closed in 2019. Bus services link the village to Ely and Cambridge to the south and Chatteris to the north with a two hourly service during the daytime and no service in
644-641: A Jubilee focus and were supplemented by around 30 other special attractions, local, national and international. The year began with a Grand Jubilee Ball at the Dorchester Hotel in London, featuring a display of Aston Martin cars, with an Aston Martin DB7 exhibited outside the ballroom. Inside, cars with chassis numbers 1914; 1925; D5/569/S; C7/719/U; LML/50/396 and DB5/2261/R were arranged on specially constructed stands. A silver Diamond Jubilee Virage Volante
736-508: A London businessman, who insisted to reporters that Aston Martin remained a British controlled business. Sprague later claimed he had fallen in love with the factory, not the cars, the workforce's craftsmanship dedication and intelligence. At this point, he and Minden had brought in investor Alan Curtis, a British office property developer, together with George Flather, a retired Sheffield steel magnate . Six months later, in September 1975,
828-595: A Tickford Austin Metro , a Tickford Ford Capri and even Tickford train interiors, particularly on the Jaguar XJS . Pace continued sponsoring racing events, and now sponsored all Aston Martin Owners Club events, taking a Tickford-engined Nimrod Group C car owned by AMOC President Viscount Downe , which came third in the Manufacturers Championship in both 1982 and 1983. It also finished seventh in
920-455: A Tuesday evening. The village was part of Ely Rural District council from 1894 until 1974. East Cambridgeshire District Council (ECDC) was formed in 1974 with administration buildings in Ely . The district council collects taxes , provides services such as building regulations and local planning, leisure and tourism, handles issues strategic to the district, and many other services. The village
1012-413: A consortium led by Prodrive chairman David Richards purchased Aston Martin for £475 million (US$ 848 million). The group included American investment banker John Sinders and two Kuwaiti companies namely Investment Dar and Adeem Investment . Prodrive had no financial involvement in the deal. Ford kept a stake in Aston Martin valued at £40 million (US$ 70 million). To demonstrate
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#17327798110201104-680: A full-year pre-tax profit of £87 million (compared with a £163 million loss in 2016) Aston Martin in August 2018 announced plans to float the company at the London Stock Exchange as Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings plc . The company was the subject of an initial public offering on the London Stock Exchange on 3 October 2018. In the same year, Aston Martin opened a new vehicle dynamics test and development centre at Silverstone's Stowe Circuit alongside
1196-441: A leading role in the reformed club, with Eric Cutler as chairman. Coram served in every different position in the club before his death in 1976. Although the pre-war archives have been lost, the present rules are believed to enshrine the same principles as those drafted in 1935. AMOC's Memorandum of Association states, among other things, that the club is established to "promote the sport and pastime of motoring", "develop interest in
1288-468: A new HQ in London. In June 2019, the company opened its new 90-acre (36 ha) factory in St Athan for the production of its first-ever SUV the DBX . The factory was finally completed and officially opened on 6 December 2019. When full production begins in the second quarter of 2020, around 600 people will be employed at the factory, rising to 750 when peak production is reached. On 31 January 2020 it
1380-608: A number of local groups including a monthly community café. The village has a cricket club with its own grounds and cricket pavilion. Adjacent to the Brooklands Centre off the Brook, the Parish Council provides playing fields, a multi-use games area and a sports pavilion used by local football teams and other local sports groups. The village bowls club green is also next to the sports pavilion. The pavilion also hosts
1472-506: A partnership with Magna Steyr to outsource manufacture of over 2,000 cars annually to Graz, Austria, reassuringly stating: "The continuing growth and success of Aston Martin is based upon Gaydon as the focal point and heart of the business, with the design and engineering of all Aston Martin products continuing to be carried out there." More dealers in Europe and the new pair in China brought
1564-433: A petrol car. This statement was disputed by electric vehicle researcher Auke Hoekstra, who argued that the report underestimated the emissions from combustion engine vehicles and did not consider the emissions from creating petrol. According to him, a typical EV would need to drive 16,000–18,000 miles (25,700–30,000 km) to offset the emissions from manufacture. Bosch and a number of other companies were also involved with
1656-404: A pre-tax profit of £87 million compared with a £163 million loss in 2016. 2017 also marked the return of production of the Newport Pagnell facility ten years after it originally ceased. In December 2013, Aston Martin signed a deal with Mercedes-Benz Group (at the time known as Daimler) to supply the next generation of Aston Martin cars with Mercedes-AMG engines. Mercedes-AMG also
1748-588: A recession, AML cut back their workforce of 450 by more than 20%, making those people redundant. In January 1981, there having been no satisfactory revival partners, Alan Curtis and Peter Sprague announced they had never intended to maintain a long-term financial stake in Aston Martin Lagonda and it was to be sold to Pace Petroleum 's Victor Gauntlett . Sprague and Curtis pointed out that under their ownership AML finances had improved to where an offer for MG might have been feasible. Gauntlett bought
1840-478: A result of the poor sales, an outcome of the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown. In March 2021, executive chairman Lawrence Stroll stated that the company plans on building electric vehicles by 2025. In May 2022, Aston Martin named 76-year-old Amedeo Felisa as the new chief executive officer, replacing Tobias Moers. Roberto Fedeli was also announced as the new chief technical officer. In late 2020, Aston Martin
1932-638: A stake in 1987. Ford placed Aston Martin in the Premier Automotive Group , invested in new manufacturing and ramped up production. In 1994, Ford opened a new factory at Banbury Road in Bloxham to manufacture the DB7. In 1995, Aston Martin produced a record 700 cars. Until the Ford era, cars had been produced by hand coachbuilding craft methods, such as the English wheel . During the mid-1990s,
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#17327798110202024-484: A visit by John Wesley in 1774, and a Baptist chapel built in the same century. Both of these closed in recent decades, leaving the Anglican church as the sole place of worship. By 1599, the village was so prosperous that it became known as "Golden Sutton." In 1800, it had a population of about 950, quickly rising to 1,862 by 1851. Although a school had been established in the village in 1579, under William Heye, it
2116-506: A weekly pensioners' lunch club. In nearby Stirling Way the Parish Council provides a children's play area. Elsewhere on the south side of the village is the Recreation Ground, previously used for organised sporting events but now used as an informal recreation and dog walking area. Linden Homes submitted a major planning application early in 2017. Concerns were raised about the impact of this development on village services such as
2208-435: Is a British manufacturer of luxury sports cars and grand tourers . Its predecessor was founded in 1913 by Lionel Martin and Robert Bamford . Steered from 1947 by David Brown , it became associated with expensive grand touring cars in the 1950s and 1960s, and with the fictional character James Bond following his use of a DB5 model in the 1964 film Goldfinger . Their grand tourers and sports cars are regarded as
2300-460: Is part of Sutton ward, which includes some smaller neighbouring villages and is represented by two district councillors. East Cambridgeshire is in turn part of Cambridgeshire County Council which has administration buildings in Cambridge . The county council provides county-wide services such as major road infrastructure, fire and rescue, libraries and heritage, and strategic planning. The village
2392-497: Is part of the Sutton electoral division, represented by a county councillor who also represents a number of smaller neighbouring villages. The Parish Council developed a Neighbourhood Plan for the parish, which was adopted following a referendum on 2 May 2019, with 90.5% of the votes supporting the plan. Currently the village has a One Stop shop, a Co-Op shop, a pharmacy, a hairdressers, a barbers, an Indian restaurant and take-away,
2484-478: Is the largest of its kind in Europe. In addition, a straw-burning power station was opened in 1996. Sutton is a civil parish with an elected Parish council . Services include community meeting rooms, sports and recreation facilities, a bus shelter , a cemetery, local planning consultation, a community time bank, play area, street lighting, grants to local organisations and a war memorial. Parish council meetings are usually held in either The Glebe or The Pavilion on
2576-666: The 1982 24 Hours of Le Mans race. However, sales of production cars were now at an all-time low of 30 cars produced in 1982. As trading became tighter in the petroleum market, and Aston Martin was requiring more time and money, Gauntlett agreed to sell Hays/Pace to the Kuwait Investment Office in September 1983. As Aston Martin required greater investment, he also agreed to sell his share holding to American importer and Greek shipping tycoon Peter Livanos , who invested via his joint venture with Nick and John Papanicolaou, ALL Inc. Gauntlett remained chairman of AML, 55% of
2668-575: The DB6 (1965–70), and DBS (1967–1972). The six-cylinder engines of these cars from 1954 up to 1965 were designed by Tadek Marek . Aston Martin was often financially troubled. In 1972, David Brown paid off all its debts, said to be £5 million or more, and handed it for £101 to Company Developments, a Birmingham -based investment bank consortium chaired by accountant William Willson . More detail on this period may be read at Willson's biography . The worldwide recession , lack of working capital and
2760-807: The DB9 coupé, which replaced the ten-year-old DB7 . A convertible version of the DB9, the DB9 Volante , was introduced at the 2004 Detroit auto show . In October 2004, Aston Martin set up the dedicated 12,500 m (135,000 sq ft) Aston Martin Engine Plant (AMEP) within the Ford Germany Niehl, Cologne plant. With the capacity to produce up to 5,000 engines a year by 100 specially trained personnel, like traditional Aston Martin engine production from Newport Pagnell, assembly of each unit
2852-530: The Magna Steyr factory in Graz , Austria in 2010. The contract manufacturer provides dedicated facilities to ensure compliance with the exacting standards of Aston Martin and other marques, including Mercedes-Benz . Then CEO of the company, Ulrich Bez had publicly speculated about outsourcing all of Aston Martin's operations with the exception of marketing. In September 2011, it was announced that production of
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2944-471: The Newport Pagnell plant rolled out the last of nearly 13,000 cars made there since 1955, a Vanquish S. The Tickford Street facility was converted and became the home of the Aston Martin Works classic car department which focuses on heritage sales, service, spares and restoration operations. UK production was subsequently concentrated on the 55-acre (22 ha) facility in Gaydon on the former RAF V Bomber airbase . In March 2008, Aston Martin announced
3036-628: The News Sheet , which include reports of club events around the world. On 23 May 1997, Paula Brown and John Martin unveiled the Cairn, erected in memory of Lionel Martin , at the top of Aston Hill in Buckinghamshire . Originally conceived by the club's chairman, Ian Macgregor , this memorial was designed by club member John Evans and constructed on Forestry Commission land with funding from AMOC and AML Ltd. In January 1998, AMOC purchased
3128-530: The V8 Vantage in 1977, the convertible Volante in 1978, and the one-off Bulldog styled by William Towns in 1980. Towns also styled the futuristic new Lagonda saloon, based on the V8 model. Curtis, who had a 42% stake in Aston Martin, also brought about a change in direction from the usual customers who were Aston Martin fans, to successful young married businessmen. Prices had been increased by 25%. There
3220-504: The 100-year-old British brand consistently profitable. He stated, "In the first century we went bankrupt seven times. The second century is about making sure that is not the case." In preparation for its next-generation of sports cars, the company invested £20 million ($ 33.4 million) to expand its manufacturing plant in Gaydon. The expansion at the Gaydon plant includes a new chassis and pilot build facility, as well as an extension of
3312-607: The 1½-litre "T-type", "International", "Le Mans", "MKII" and its racing derivative, the "Ulster", and the 2-litre 15/98 and its racing derivative, the "Speed Model". Most were open two-seater sports cars bodied by Bert Bertelli's brother Enrico (Harry) , with a small number of long-chassis four-seater tourers, dropheads and saloons also produced. Bertelli was a competent driver keen to race his cars, one of few owner/manufacturer/drivers. The "LM" team cars were very successful in national and international motor racing including at Le Mans. Financial problems reappeared in 1932. Aston Martin
3404-766: The Aston Martin Owners Club and contains technical articles, historical items, factory news and reports of AMOC activities from around the world. It is published four times a year. Every four years, a Register of Members' Cars is published and has become the 'standard work' on the Marque. The Aston Martin Heritage Trust now has the responsibility for publishing this work. Aston Martin Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings PLC ( / ˈ æ s t ə n / )
3496-674: The Aston Martin car" and "encourage social intercourse between Members". In the UK, the club organises five race meetings a year, at least one hill climb and three sprints. The club has members worldwide, with thriving sections in Germany, the Netherlands , Switzerland and the United States . These groups also organise various events for their members. AMOC celebrated its Diamond Jubilee in 1995. The traditional annual events all took on
3588-866: The DB9 and DB9 Volante. In December 2003, Aston Martin announced it would return to motor racing in 2005. A new division was created, called Aston Martin Racing , which became responsible, together with Prodrive , for the design, development, and management of the DBR9 program. The DBR9 competes in the GT class in sports car races , including the world-famous 24 Hours of Le Mans . In 2006, an internal audit led Ford to consider divesting itself of parts of its Premier Automotive Group . After suggestions of selling Jaguar Cars , Land Rover , or Volvo Cars were weighed, Ford announced in August 2006 it had engaged UBS AG to sell all or part of Aston Martin at auction. On 12 March 2007,
3680-575: The DBX SUV along with track focused cars like the Vulcan . According to Palmer, the troubles started when sales of the DB9 failed to generate sufficient fund to develop next-generation models which led to a downward spiral of declining sales and profitability. Palmer outlined that the company plans to develop two new platforms, add a crossover, refresh its supercar lineup and leverage its technology alliance with Daimler as part of its six-year plan to make
3772-619: The Green Pea; chassis number 1915, the Razor Blade record car; and chassis number 1916, later developed as the Halford Special . Approximately 55 cars were built for sale in two configurations; long chassis and short chassis. Bamford & Martin went bankrupt in 1924 and was bought by Dorothea, Lady Charnwood , who put her son John Benson on the board. Bamford & Martin got into financial difficulty again in 1925 and Martin
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3864-628: The Neighbourhood Plan. Sutton Gault (Bury Lane) is a part of the parish of Sutton-in-the-Isle . The name derives from the gault clay that has been extracted from there. It comprises a few houses and farms, a guest home, "Grove Barn" and an inn , "The Anchor". The Old Bedford River and New Bedford River pass through Sutton Gault. The land between them, known as the Ouse Washes , a giant flood water reservoir which also forms part of an internationally important wetland habitat. When
3956-638: The Papanicolaou's shares in ALL, while Gauntlett again became a shareholder with a 25% holding in AML. The deal valued Aston Martin/AML at £2 million, the year it built its 10,000th car. Although as a result Aston Martin had to make 60 members of the workforce redundant, Gauntlett bought a stake in Italian styling house Zagato , and resurrected its collaboration with Aston Martin. In 1986, Gauntlett negotiated
4048-517: The Priory. In 1312, Sutton was granted the right to hold a street market each Thursday; this was held on the broader part of the High Street, outside what is now the One Stop Shop. During the 14th century, the Sutton resident Reginald de Beringhale also became a major landowner, further developing his father's programme of land acquisition. The vicarage of St Andrew's was instituted in 1254, and
4140-532: The Rapide would be returned to Gaydon in the second half of 2012, restoring all of the company's automobile manufacture there. Italian private equity fund Investindustrial signed a deal on 6 December 2012 to buy a 37.5% stake in Aston Martin, investing £150 million as a capital increase. This was confirmed by Aston Martin in a press release on 7 December 2012. David Richards left Aston Martin in 2013, returning to concentrate on Prodrive. In April 2013, it
4232-541: The Special Projects Group, a secretive unit with Works Service at Newport Pagnell, created an array of special coach-built vehicles for the Brunei royal family. In 1998, the 2,000th DB7 was built, and in 2002, the 6,000th, exceeding production of all of the previous DB series models. The DB7 range was revamped by the addition of more powerful V12 Vantage models in 1999, and in 2001, Aston Martin introduced
4324-797: The V12-engined flagship model called the Vanquish which succeeded the aging Virage (now called the V8 Coupé). At the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, Michigan in 2003, Aston Martin introduced the V8 Vantage concept car. Expected to have few changes before its introduction in 2005, the Vantage brought back the classic V8 engine to allow Aston Martin to compete in a larger market. 2003 also saw
4416-715: The V8 Vantage's durability across hazardous terrain and promote the car in China, the first east–west crossing of the Asian Highway was undertaken between June and August 2007. A pair of Britons drove 12,089 km (7,512 miles) from Tokyo to Istanbul before joining the European motorway network for another 3,259 km (2,025 miles) to London. The promotion was so successful Aston Martin opened dealerships in Shanghai and Beijing within three months. On 19 July 2007,
4508-520: The ancient V8 and introduced the Virage range. Although Gauntlett was contractually to stay as chairman for two years, his racing interests took the company back into sports car racing in 1989 with limited European success. However, with engine rule changes for the 1990 season and the launch of the new Volante model, Ford provided the limited supply of Cosworth engines to the Jaguar cars racing team. As
4600-694: The car in Oman, Kuwait, and Qatar. In 1982, Aston Martin was granted a Royal Warrant of Appointment by the Prince of Wales . Understanding that it would take some time to develop new Aston Martin products, they created an engineering service subsidiary to develop automotive products for other companies. It was decided to use a trade name of Salmons & Son, their in-house coachbuilder, Tickford , which Aston Martin had bought in 1955. Tickford's name had been long associated with expensive high-quality carriages and cars along with their folding roofs. New products included
4692-784: The classic "DB" series of cars. In April 1950, they announced planned production of their Le Mans prototype to be called the DB2 , followed by the DB2/4 in 1953, the DB2/4 MkII in 1955, the DB Mark III in 1957 and the Italian-styled 3.7 L DB4 in 1958. While these models helped Aston Martin establish a good racing pedigree, the DB4 stood out and yielded the famous DB5 in 1963. Aston stayed true to its grand touring style with
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#17327798110204784-403: The consortium, acquiring 3.4% and 4.8% stakes, respectively. In March 2020, Stroll increased his stake in the company to 25%. On 26 May 2020, Aston Martin announced that Andy Palmer had stepped down as CEO. Tobias Moers of Mercedes-AMG will succeed him starting 1 August, with Keith Stanton as interim chief operating officer. In June 2020, the company announced that it cut out 500 jobs as
4876-465: The difficulties of developing an engine to meet California's exhaust emission requirements – it stopped the company's US sales – again pulled Aston Martin into receivership at the end of 1974. The company had employed 460 workers when the manufacturing plant closed. The receiver sold the business in April 1975 for £1.05 million to North American businessman Peter Sprague of National Semiconductor , Toronto hotelier George Minden, and Jeremy Turner,
4968-508: The entertainment, navigation and other systems. It was also the first model to use Mercedes-AMG V8 engines. In October 2020, Mercedes confirmed it will increase its holding "in stages" from 5% to 20%. In return, Aston Martin will have access to Mercedes-Benz hybrid and electric drivetrain technologies for its future models. After "completing a turnaround for the once perennially loss-making company that could now be valued at up to 5 billion pounds ($ 6.4 billion)," and now reporting
5060-420: The entry-level DB7 would require a large engineering input, Ford agreed to take full control of Aston Martin, and Gauntlett handed over Aston Martin's chairmanship to Hayes in 1991. In 1992, the high-performance variant of the Virage called the Vantage was announced, and the following year Aston Martin renewed the DB range by announcing the DB7. By 1993, Ford had fully acquired the company after having built
5152-401: The evenings or on a Sunday. The Glebe community centre provides a range of meeting rooms used by local community groups as well as being used for private hires such as wedding receptions. It is also the location of the Parish Office which is open between 10 am and 12 noon Monday to Thursday. The Community Room is located adjacent to the school and provides an additional meeting room used by
5244-582: The factory – shut down the previous December – re-opened under its new owner as Aston Martin Lagonda Limited with 100 employees, and planned to lift staff to 250 by the end of 1975. In January 1976, AML revealed that it now held orders for 150 cars for the US, 100 for other markets and another 80 from a Japanese importing agency. At the Geneva Motor Show , Fred Hartley, managing director and sales director for 13 years before that, announced he had resigned over "differences in marketing policy". The new owners pushed Aston Martin into modernising its line, introducing
5336-408: The flood water is very high the road through the Washes is impassible and closed to traffic. The Americas , also known as The America or just America, is another part of the parish. Although it is treated as a separate settlement from the village of Sutton-in-the-Isle on some maps, most residents consider it part of the village and the equivalent of a street name. So far the origins of the name remain
5428-402: The opening of the Gaydon factory, the first purpose-built factory in Aston Martin's history. The facility is situated on a 55-acre (22 ha) site of a former RAF V Bomber airbase , with an 8,000 m (86,000 sq ft) front building for offices, meeting rooms and customer reception, and a 35,000 m (380,000 sq ft) production building. Also introduced in 2003 was
5520-517: The original Mille Miglia , while watching the revival event. Another house guest was Walter Hayes , vice-president of Ford of Europe . Despite problems over the previous acquisition of AC Cars , Hayes saw the potential of the brand and the discussion resulted in Ford taking a share holding in September 1987. In 1988, having produced some 5,000 cars in 20 years, a revived economy and successful sales of limited edition Vantage , and 52 Volante Zagato coupés at £86,000 each; Aston Martin finally retired
5612-602: The outbreak of the First World War , when Martin joined the Admiralty and Bamford joined the Army Service Corps . After the war they found new premises at Abingdon Road, Kensington and designed a new car. Bamford left in 1920 and Bamford & Martin was revitalised with funding from Louis Zborowski . In 1922, Bamford & Martin produced cars to compete in the French Grand Prix , which went on to set world speed and endurance records at Brooklands . Three works Team Cars with 16-valve twin cam engines were built for racing and record-breaking: chassis number 1914, later developed as
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#17327798110205704-494: The parts and logistics storage area, and new offices. In total, Aston Martin will add approximately 10,000 m (110,000 sq ft) to the plant. In 2014, Aston Martin suffered a pre-tax loss of £72 million, almost triple of the amount of 2013 selling 3,500 cars during the year, well below the 7,300 cars sold in 2007 and 4,200 sold in 2013 respectively. In March 2014, Aston Martin issued "payment in kind" notes of US$ 165 million, at 10.25% interest, in addition to
5796-470: The president and Sammy Davis the vice-president, with Leslie Keevil as honorary treasurer and Mort Goodall as honorary secretary. The club's activities, mostly social, including an annual dinner-dance at the Park Lane Hotel , were interrupted by the Second World War . The club convened again at a meeting led by Dick Stallebrass at the Royal Automobile Club on 5 March 1948. However, following Stallebrass's death at Spa four months later, Dudley Coram took over
5888-557: The previous year to sell cars made by Singer from premises in Callow Street, London where they also serviced GWK and Calthorpe vehicles. Martin raced specials at 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 Mews in Kensington and produced their first car in March 1915. Production could not start because of
5980-485: The production site of Aston Martin's SUV , the DBX . Aston Martin has been involved in motorsport at various points in its history, mainly in sports car racing , and also in Formula One . The Aston Martin brand is increasingly being used, mostly through licensing, on other products including a submarine, real estate development, and aircraft. Aston Martin was founded in 1913 by Lionel Martin and Robert Bamford . The two had joined forces as Bamford & Martin
6072-450: The re-building of the church started between 1350 and 1360. It was completed by 1388. With two octagons atop each other crowning its square tower, it is reminiscent of Ely Cathedral , from whom it enjoyed patronage. It has a distinctively shaped tower that is often described as being in the shape of a pepper pot. Several non-conformist chapels once also existed in the village. These included a Methodist chapel constructed in 1790, following
6164-477: The report received coverage from The Sunday Times and other publications, it emerged that the company had been set up in February that year and was registered under the name of Rebecca Stephens – the wife of James Stephens, who is the government affairs director of Aston Martin Lagonda. Citing a study by Polestar , the report stated that electric vehicles would need to be driven 48,000 miles (77,000 km) before they would have lower overall CO 2 emissions than
6256-442: The report. Sutton-in-the-Isle Sutton or Sutton-in-the-Isle is a village and civil parish in the county of Cambridgeshire in England, near the city of Ely . The "in-the-Isle" suffix refers to the fact that the village is part of the Isle of Ely , once an island in the Fens and also an administrative county until 1965. The village location on the high ground of the Isle of Ely provides commanding views across
6348-433: The return of the fictional British secret agent James Bond to Aston Martin. Cubby Broccoli had chosen to recast the character using actor Timothy Dalton , in an attempt to re-root the Bond-brand back to a more Sean Connery -like feel. Gauntlett supplied his personal pre-production Vantage for use in the filming of The Living Daylights , and sold a Volante to Broccoli for use at his home in America. Gauntlett turned down
6440-402: The role of a KGB colonel in the film, however: "I would have loved to have done it but really could not afford the time." As Aston Martin needed funds to survive in the long term, Ford bought a 75% stake in the company in 1987, and bought the rest later. In May of that year, Victor Gauntlett and Prince Michael of Kent were staying at the home of Contessa Maggi, the wife of the founder of
6532-406: The school and the GP surgery. East Cambridgeshire District Council refused an initial application for 77 homes but Linden Homes subsequently took this to appeal and were successful. Those homes are currently under construction with an outline application for a further 173 homes currently being considered by the District Council. This would lead to an overall development of 250 homes in accordance with
6624-415: The stake was owned by ALL, with Tickford a 50/50 venture between ALL and CHI. The uneasy relationship was ended when ALL exercised options to buy a larger share in AML; CHI's residual shares were exchanged for CHI's complete ownership of Tickford, which retained the development of existing Aston Martin projects. In 1984, Papanicolaou's Titan shipping business was in trouble so Livanos's father George bought out
6716-691: The surrounding low-lying fens. The village was mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086, identified as Sudtone . There were then 9 sokemen, 8 villeins (each with 7.5 acres), 15 cotters and 7 serfs. In 1109, the charter 51 of Bishop Hervey included Suttune in the lands recorded as being conferred upon the Cathedral Priory of Ely. According to the Ely Diocesan Register, the Manor of Sutton was established in 1292 and belonged to
6808-653: The team car LM7 and receiving an invitation to drive "under works control" at Le Mans in 1933. Sammy Davis agreed that a club for Aston Martin owners would be a good idea and inserted a note in The Autocar magazine, of which he was sports editor, on 3 and 17 May 1935, calling a meeting. The meeting at the Grafton Hotel on 25 May was attended by 20-30 people, who elected a committee including Lance Prideaux-Brune, Dick Anthony, Maurice Falkner, Harold Bevan, Dorothy Bean and Peter Cadbury. Charles Jarrott became
6900-450: The total to 120 in 28 countries. On 1 September 2008, Aston Martin announced the revival of the Lagonda marque, proposing a concept car to be shown in 2009 to coincide with the brand's 100th anniversary. The first production cars were slated for production in 2012. In December 2008, Aston Martin announced it would cut its workforce from 1,850 to 1,250 due to the economic recession. The first four-door Rapide grand tourers rolled out of
6992-548: The villages of Sutton and Mepal . The airfield opened in 1943 and remained operational for the rest of the war. During the 1960s, the Sutton Gault hamlet was the site of one of the world's first tracked hovercraft , designed by Eric Laithwaite . A linear induction motor propelled this hovertrain and ran alongside the Old Bedford River, on a one-mile section of air-cushion trackway. In 1984, Sutton Village
7084-485: The £304 million of senior secured notes at 9.25% issued in 2011. Aston Martin also had to secure an additional investment of £200 million from its shareholders to fund development of new models. It was reported that Aston Martin's pre-tax losses for 2016 increased by 27% to £162.8 million, the sixth year it continued to suffer a loss. In 2016, the company selected a 90-acre (36 ha) site in St Athan , South Wales for its new factory. The Welsh facility
7176-548: Was announced that Canadian billionaire and investor Lawrence Stroll was leading a consortium, Yew Tree Overseas Limited, who will pay £182 million in return for 16.7% stake in the company. The re-structuring includes a £318 million cash infusion through a new rights issue, generating a total of £500 million for the company. Stroll will also be named as chairman, replacing Penny Hughes . Swiss pharmaceutical magnate Ernesto Bertarelli and Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 team principal and CEO Toto Wolff have also joined
7268-418: Was entrusted to a single technician from a pool of 30, with V8 and V12 variants assembled in under 20 hours. By bringing engine production back to within Aston Martin, the promise was that Aston Martin would be able to produce small runs of higher performance variants' engines. This expanded engine capacity allowed the entry-level V8 Vantage sports car to enter production at the Gaydon factory in 2006, joining
7360-697: Was forced to sell the company (Bamford had already left it in 1920). Later that year, Bill Renwick, Augustus (Bert) Bertelli and investors including Lady Charnwood took control of the business. They renamed it Aston Martin Motors and moved it to the former Whitehead Aircraft Limited Hanworth works in Feltham . Renwick and Bertelli had been in partnership some years and had developed an overhead-cam four-cylinder engine using Renwick's patented combustion chamber design, which they had tested in an Enfield-Allday chassis. The only "Renwick and Bertelli" motor car made, it
7452-518: Was given a bypass. In 2002, it won the East Cambs, Cambridgeshire and Calor England and Wales Village of the Year awards. The village has known a variety of businesses throughout its history. It was once well known for fruit-growing, but has also been a place for cheese production. Later, it manufactured road sweepers, and now it hosts a monthly auction of construction and agricultural equipment, which
7544-461: Was involved in a controversy in which it was accused of using a report to spread disputed information about electric vehicles in the wake of the UK's declaration to end the sale of combustion engine vehicles by 2030, with some in the media dubbing the controversy as " Astongate ". In November 2020, a communications agency called Clarendon Communications published a report comparing the environmental impact of various powertrain options for cars. After
7636-424: Was known as "Buzzbox" and still survives. The pair had planned to sell their engine to motor manufacturers, but having heard that Aston Martin was no longer in production realised they could capitalise on its reputation to jump-start the production of a completely new car. Between 1926 and 1937 Bertelli was both technical director and designer of all new Aston Martins, since known as "Bertelli cars". They included
7728-555: Was later extended round the edge of the fen to Earith Bridge and onto St Ives , with this branch opening on 11 May 1878. The combined line was then reorganised to become the Ely and St Ives Railway . The branch to St Ives was closed on 6 October 1958, followed by the line to Ely on 13 July 1964, as part of the Beeching Axe . In 1942, with the increase in bomber operations in World War II, work began on RAF Mepal between
7820-486: Was not until 1860 that the first purpose-built school building opened. John Taylor was the first headmaster for the boys, and his wife was the headmistress for the girls. The school continues to this day and has expanded to serve the village's growing population. A railway station was opened in 1866, with the Great Eastern Railway inaugurating passenger-train services to Ely on 16 April. The railway line
7912-530: Was officially opened in April 2002. Prince Michael of Kent was scheduled to perform the opening, but was unable to attend due to the death of his aunt, Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon . Instead, the building was opened by the president, Diana Dawnay, on Prince Michael's behalf. AMOC maintains strong links to Aston Martin Lagonda , each supporting the other in various enterprises. AM Quarterly is the official magazine of
8004-490: Was reported that Bez would be leaving his role as the chief executive officer to take up a more ambassadorial position. On 2 September 2014, Aston Martin announced it had appointed the Nissan executive Andy Palmer as the new CEO with Bez retaining a position as non-executive chairman. As sales had been declining from 2015, Aston Martin sought new customers (particularly wealthy female buyers) with introducing concept cars like
8096-733: Was rescued for a year by Lance Prideaux Brune before passing it on to Sir Arthur Sutherland . In 1936, Aston Martin decided to concentrate on road cars, producing just 700 until World War II halted work. Production shifted to aircraft components during the war. In 1947, old-established (1860) privately owned Huddersfield gear and machine tools manufacturer David Brown Limited bought Aston Martin, putting it under control of its Tractor Group. David Brown became Aston Martin's latest saviour. He also acquired Lagonda , without its factory, for its 2.6-litre W. O. Bentley -designed engine. Lagonda moved operations to Newport Pagnell and shared engines, resources and workshops. Aston Martin began to build
8188-457: Was speculation that AML was about to buy Italian automobile manufacturer Lamborghini . At the end of the 1970s, there was widespread debate about running MG into the Aston Martin consortium. 85 Conservative MPs formed themselves into a pressure group to get British Leyland to release their grip and hand it over. CH Industrials plc (car components) bought a 10% share in AML. But in July 1980, blaming
8280-647: Was to supply Aston Martin with electrical systems. This technical partnership was intended to support Aston Martin's launch of a new generation of models that would incorporate new technology and engines. In exchange, Mercedes will get as much as 5% equity in Aston Martin and a non-voting seat on its board. The first model to sport the Mercedes-Benz technology was the DB11 , announced at the 86th Geneva Motor Show in March 2016. It featured Mercedes-Benz electronics for
8372-588: Was unanimously chosen by Aston's board despite fierce competition from other locations as far afield as the Americas, Eastern Europe, the Middle East, Europe, as well as two other sites in the UK, believed to be Bridgend and Birmingham . The facility featured three existing 'super-hangars' of MOD St Athan . Construction work of converting the hangars commenced in April 2017. Aston Martin returned to profit in 2017 after selling over 5,000 cars. The company made
8464-822: Was used as a display case for a million dollars worth of Cartier jewellery. The AMOC President, John Dawnay , received the club's premier award, the Bertelli Trophy, at the AGM. A Founders Day Dinner was also held at the Grafton Hotel where the club had formed on 25 May 1935. Other events included special displays at the St. John Horsfall and a historic weekend at the Silverstone Circuit . The club, known to members as "The Family", meets at social and competitive events and issues publications, AM Quarterly and
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