Year-long celebration for Aston Martin’s 110th

FAMED British sportscar manufacturer Aston Martin says it will celebrate its 110th year in business with a year-long celebration that will include the release of an exclusive special model.

Honouring the past, present and future of the brand, the celebrations will centre on what Aston Martin describes as more than a century of automotive intensity, cutting-edge British innovation, and high-octane racing success.

Born on the circuit and inspired by the racing passion of founders Lionel Martin and Robert Bamford, Aston Martin has grown considerably from its beginnings in a London back alley to become one of the world’s most renowned – but regularly troubled – automotive marques.

In photographs released to mark the special occasion, Aston Martin has brought one of its oldest surviving race cars, the record-breaking 1923 Razor Blade, alongside the forthcoming Valkyrie hypercar, highlighting what it says is a commitment to pushing the boundaries of performance and applying engineering from Grand Prix racing to the road.

Aston Martin says the Razor Blade was one of the earliest cars to be specifically designed with aerodynamics in mind and, propelled by a Grand Prix specification engine, set numerous class records at Brooklands in 1923, a year on from the brand’s Grand Prix debut with the TT1.

The Valkyrie encapsulates much the same pedigree, though reflecting the 110 years of research and development that has taken place since its Razor Blade ancestor first turned a wheel.

Powered by a 6.5-litre V12 hybrid engine – which develops a scintillating 745kW at a stratospheric 10,500rpm and an equally chunky 740Nm of torque – the hypercar will offer total system power of more than 1500kW courtesy of its Rimac-sourced electric motors.

Further, Aston Martin’s historic 110th anniversary is to be celebrated through the launch of a new, strictly limited, and exclusive model it says will be unveiled later this year.

The milestone will be celebrated under the banner of “Intensity: 110 Years in the Making” and will feature at numerous events including this year’s British Grand Prix at Silverstone, the Goodwood Festival of Speed, Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, and “other major events across Aston Martin’s key regions”.

“In 1913, Lionel Martin and Robert Bamford came together with a shared vision of racing cars and using learnings from the racetrack to push the boundaries of automotive innovation,” said Aston Martin Lagonda CEO Amedeo Felisa.

“One hundred and ten years, and a little over 110,000 cars later, that spirit continues. Our 110th year promises to be just as exciting as our first, as we turn a new chapter in Aston Martin history with the launch of our next generation of sports cars and the reveal of an extraordinary special model later this year that will celebrate this unique milestone.”

Mr Felisa said the 110th anniversary is one of several notable landmarks for Aston Martin in 2023, with the year also marking 75 years of the DB bloodline, 60 years of the DB5, and 20 years of the company’s Gaydon headquarters.

Based in Gaydon, England, Aston Martin Lagonda designs, creates, and exports cars which are sold in 56 countries. The DBX SUV range is manufactured separately in St Athan, Wales.

Aston Martin merged with Lagonda (formed 124 years ago) in 1947 when both were purchased by the late Sir David Brown. The company is now listed on the London Stock Exchange as Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings.

In October, a 7.6 per cent stake of the company was purchased by Zhejiang Geely Holding Group, China’s largest privately-owned automotive group, for an estimated £7.55 billion ($A13.1b).