The dials in the Aston Martin coup? and (below) the coup? version of the car

Ever since James Bond drove an Aston Martin DB5 in 1964’s Goldfinger, the car has become synonymous with the uber cool. Small wonder then that it’s one of the most in-demand vehicles in the world and some models are said to have a two-year-long waiting list. Even when it comes to A-list celebrities showering their loved ones with eye-popping tokens, this vehicle figures high on the must-give list ? a couple of years ago, Latin diva Jennifer Lopez presented then-beau Ben Affleck with a $160,000 Aston Martin.

So just what makes the Aston Martin one of the hottest sports cars in the world? While there are very few traditional British sports car marques left, the name that still manages to send a chill down any car-lover’s spine is Aston Martin, of Newport Pagnell in England. This is where cars are still hand-built and lovingly crafted, each car bearing the spirit of Aston Martin.

Who or what is Aston Martin? To know that, one must go back almost 90 years, to 1914. It could have been Bamford Martin though, if the company had been named after its founders Robert Bamford and Lionel Martin. Bamford and Martin used to sell Singer motor cars together before World War I. They also prepared Singers for hill climb races where Martin drove the car. The two were very successful at a meet held at Aston Hill in Hertfordshire. So when the two started making cars in 1914, (actually one car) they opted to name their company Aston Martin. The workshop or garage or factory, call it what you will, was in West Kensington, London. The first car was unofficially known as the ‘Coal Scuttle’ and was powered by a Coventry Simplex side-valve engine, and was registered in March 1915. After the Great War, Aston Martin returned to motorsport with a vengeance. First, 10 world speed records were broken at the famous Brooklands race track. Then Aston Martin built and entered two cars for the French GP.

Unfortunately, while people were thrilled to see the Aston Martins racing, it did not entice them into buying the car ? as there weren’t enough production models to buy (Martin was more interested in racing). The resulting financial problems saw the company go into receivership despite last ditch efforts to shore it up.

What emerged from the financial mess was Aston Martin Motors, now based in Feltham, Middlesex and owned by Lord Charnwood, assisted by Augustus Cesare Bertelli, one-time competitor to Martin on the racetracks and his associate William Somerville Renwick. This company also produced racing cars, notably the International, the Le Mans and Ulster models. In 1932, Aston Martin was bought again and it was decided that the company needed to sell cars to survive.

By early 1939, a two-litre road-going prototype had been developed but again, war broke out. So, it was only in 1947 that the company could think about returning to the car-making business. Unfortunately, there was a paucity of funds and developing a new car proved impossible. Help was at hand though, by way of one David Brown, who had a group of companies that built tractors and farm machinery. He took over the company, and then bought Lagonda, another sports car maker.

This was an important break as far as Aston Martin was concerned, as it gave the company access to a magnificent 2.6-litre DOHC engine developed by the great Walter Owen ‘W ’ Bentley. The result of this union ? Aston Martin Lagonda ? was the brilliant Aston Martin DB2, DB standing for David Brown. The DB2 was followed by the DB2/4. Cars were produced ? engines at Feltham and chassis-cum-running gear at Huddersfield ? but there had always been a need to have production under one roof. This happened in 1954 when David Brown took over Tickford Motor Bodies in Newport Pagnell. Tickford supplied bodies to Lagonda, so this buy brought everything together.

The David Brown years are acknowledged to be Aston Martin’s best ones ? 1957 saw the DB Mark III, which had disc brakes as standard. Aston Martin won regularly at Le Mans, and in 1959 secured victory at Le Mans and the World Sports Car Championship crown in 1959. Road cars did well too, with the DB4, DB5 and the DB6. The cars also gained stardom after becoming James Bond’s personal choice in the 007 film series.

In 1972, David Brown sold Aston Martin to a Birmingham-based group. The company went though some more buyouts before Ford took over 75 per cent of the shares in 1987. Today, the company has a new facility in Gaydon, Warwickshire and the range includes the DB9 Coupe and Volante, the V12 Vanquish and the V8 Vantage.

The future of Aston Martin is exciting ? and it just may include India. A task force led by the chief of the company’s Middle-Eastern operations was in India recently to take a look at the market and size up the demand. So fans of the car, keep those fingers crossed. Your dreams might yet come true!

Easy listening

Swastika Mukherjee
actress

My choice of music in the car depends entirely on my mood. So, if it’s a long drive that I’m on, you’ll probably find ghazals by Jagjit Singh or Hariharan playing. But if I’m stuck in a jam, or just have nothing to do, I’d much rather listen to peppy tunes.

I listen to a lot of radio, and being an inveterate channel hopper, I always find something or the other that I enjoy listening to. Power FM and Radio Mirchi are among my favourites, though I also like 106.2 FM, especially as it plays a lot of Bengali contemporary songs by people like Nachiketa and Raghab Chatterjee. Other picks of mine include Srikanto Acharya and Shreya Ghoshal as well as Shaan and Sonu Nigam. That apart, you’ll usually find the music of the current hit flick playing in my car. So, if it was Veera Zaara and Bunty Aur Babli just recently, right now I’m blasting tracks from Salaam Namaaste in my Bolero