A
British manufacturer of luxury sports cars. It was founded in
1914 by Lionel Martin and Robert Bamford in West
London, and was rescued by
Ford in
1987. Aston Martin's engineers work out of Newport Pagnall (
Buckinghamshire); the factory is in Bloxham (
Oxfordshire). An Aston Martin is expensive: including the shipping charge and
luxury tax, you may have one of your own for $146,530. Of course, its handling and speed are inferior to other luxury sports cars, but the Aston Martin is special. And it
is what
James Bond drove before
BMW.
The DB7 Vantage, e.g., is a 2-door coupe that has a 6.0 liter, V12 engine that develops 420 bhp (309 kW) at 6000 rpm. It has a Connolly leather interior with burr walnut wood sets and Bridgestone S02 tires (er, tyres).