Founded in 1913 by Lionel Martin and Robert Bamford and named for their success at England’s Aston Hill Climb, Aston Martin spent the interwar years building performance and racing cars before industrialist David Brown bought the company in 1947. It was under David Brown’s ownership that Aston Martin gained international attention with the successful DB3S and DBR1 racing cars as well as the Italian-styled DB4 road car. Then, the DB5’s starring role in the 1964 film Goldfinger made Aston Martin the brand most associated with everyone’s favorite British secret agent – James Bond. Aston Martin continued to evolve its formula with cars like the V8, Virage, Vantage, Virage and DB7 up to the turn of the century, and then the DB9, Rapide, Vanquish, and DB11 in the 2000s. The company also entered the hypercar world with its low-production Vulcan and Valkyrie models. Aston’s formula of stylish, well-appointed, comfortable and fast GT cars has changed little since the 1950s. In the eyes of many owners and fans, that’s a good thing.