Aston Martin celebrates 100 years of sports car production

| 17 Dec 2012

Aston Martin is to mark the company's centenary year at its Gaydon HQ on 15 January.

A plaque will commemorate the occasion when the marque's oldest surviving car, an A3, joins one of its latest creations, the all-new Vanquish.

The event signals the start of a year of celebrations, which will be topped by a week-long festival of all things Aston Martin from 15-21 July that will include a 100-car concours featuring some of its most iconic models.

With help from the Aston Martin Heritage Trust and the owners' club, 1000 Aston Martins are expected to attend the event, making it the world's largest gathering of the cars.

Other plans include various tours through the UK and Europe, plus a US trip that concludes at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance.

Originally formed by Lionel Martin and Robert Bamford, and called Bamford & Martin, the firm came to be called Aston Martin to acknowledge Bamford’s success at the Aston Clinton Hill Climb in Buckinghamshire.

In its first 90 years the firm built fewer than 15,000 cars including the open-bodied two-seater sports specials of the pre-war years and machines such as the DB2/4, DB4, DB5, DB6 and DBS.

The V8 Vantage and Virage would lead to the modern era of cars including the DB7 and the original Vanquish.

The firm also celebrates a decade at Gaydon, during which it has produced 45,000 cars under the command of CEO Dr Ulrich Bez.