Aston Martin Lagonda Limited is a British manufacturer of luxury sports cars, based in Gaydon, Warwickshire, England. The company name is derived from the name of one of the company's founders, Lionel Martin, and from the Aston Clinton Hillclimb nearAston Clinton in Buckinghamshire. It also designs and engineers cars which are manufactured by Magna Steyr in Austria.
From 1994 until 2007, Aston Martin was part of the Ford Motor Company, becoming part of the company's Premier Automotive Group in 2000. On 12 March 2007, it was purchased for £479 million by a joint venture company, headed by David Richards, John Singers, an American investment banker; and two Kuwaiti investment companies,Investment Dar and Adeem Investment. Ford retained a US$77 million (or 12.1%) stake in Aston Martin, valuing the company at $925 million.
