You probably remember seeing an Aston Martin hit the big screen in one of the most iconic spy movies of all time: James Bond. While it shares the screen with other brands like Lotus, most of us remember the Bond car being an Aston Martin, but for such an iconic brand with so much heritage, you might be surprised to find out how old the company actually is.

From the start

Aston Martin as a company was founded by two men by the name Lionel Martin and Robert Bamford almost 108 years ago in January 1913. The two had worked together on other car ventures before settling on a brand that we would come to know and admire to this day. As a company based in England, that means Aston Martin made it through wars and recession, making it an important piece of history.

Racing heritage

Of course, as a European sports car brand, Aston Martin couldn’t escape the expectations we’ve come to have of other brands, and that means racing. While some brands like McLaren may have found their start in racing, it took Aston Martin several years to really get racing under its belt. While the company does produce some impressive supercars these days, they take their triumph in having artistically designed cars rather than the world’s fastest.

The future of Aston Martin

In a market becoming increasingly dominated by SUVs, Aston Martin followed in the footsteps of other luxury manufacturers like Lamborghini and producing an SUV of their own. It doesn’t just show that the company is interested in having a future, but also flexible enough to skillfully adapt to a changing market. For a company that has produced timeless sports cars for decades, it is important to see that they aren’t afraid to make some changes.

There is a lot of history and heritage that comes with the artistically designed Aston Martin badge. For a brand that is just over 100 years old, it has come an incredibly long way in what isn’t necessarily a long time — well, at least for auto manufacturers. When we look at the history of the brand, we can see how far it has come, but looking forward is the only way to see where it’s going next, and with its ability to adapt, that hopefully means another 100 years for Aston Martin.