Posts Tagged History
Bugatti History
Posted by in Uncategorized on January 13, 2010
The Bugatti is a classic car that dates back to the early 1900s. It was founded in France in the year 1909 by an Italian man named Ettore Bugatti. Many people found Bugatti to be somewhat of a genius though he was also referred to as being very eccentric. Bugatti himself was born in Milan. He was a very creative man that was highly respected for his amazing engineering skills. His designs were always quite artistic, a talent that he came by naturally. His own father had been a designer of fine furniture and jewellery. The need to create and design is something that was a huge part of the Bugatti family.
The Bugatti automobile was vastly different from other cars of the time. Bugatti preferred to scrape the engine block by hand so that it was as flat as it could possibly be. This eliminated the need for gaskets, which are found on most other cars, then and now. Bugatti had a personal belief that weight was always an issue and he constantly strived to find ways to make the weight distribution of his vehicle’s more efficient. He was also very dedicated to finding new and better ways of doing everything when it came to the physical construction of his cars.
One thing that makes Bugatti so unique is that only a small number of each model was made. This puts them at the top of many classic car collector lists. These cars are incredibly rare and worth a lot of money. It was just recently that a Bugatti car was discovered in the garage of a deceased man. Only seventeen of these cars were made so the discovery was a special thing as far as classic car history goes.
Bugatti is known to many as the most successful racing car of all time. The models used to race were considered to be among the best car that anyone could use in that type of event. This is the reason for much of the fame that this car now has, despite the rarity of it. Like every other car company of the time, the Second World War had a significant negative impact on sales and production. The production factory was destroyed and the property was seized during the war. Though Bugatti was determined to carry on with his work in the auto industry, he died in 1947 before he could implement any of his new design plans.
Despite a few attempts at resurrection at the hands of a family member, it just wasn’t meant to be for Bugatti and the brand began to die out. Volkswagen has since bought the name Bugatti. Bugatti models have since been produced but they are not in mass production. It is unlikely that Bugatti will ever have the success or recognition that it once had. It is now more of a car collector’s dream than anything else. Bugatti is so popular it was even turned into a fictional story by Salman Rushdie. This fine European car has had its day in the sun and now it is a wonderful part of history.
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The History of Aston Martin
Posted by in Uncategorized on January 5, 2010
The Aston Martin is the English alternative to the Bugati and Ferrari. The company was founded in 1913 by mechanical engineer Robert Bamford and wealthy Lionel Martin. The two had met in 1905 as members of a cycling club and progressed during the Edwardian era to classic trials and hill climbs using the Singer sports car.
Bamford thought he could improve the car, and soon began to build cars which took the Aston Martin name (from Martin’s exploits at the Aston Clinton hill climb in Buckinghamshire).
However, the partnership was not to last and Martin bought out Bamford in 1922. Soon the company being asked for replicas, but being English, they didn’t like to make a profit from their friends and the firm nearly went bust in 1925. It was saved by Lord Charnwood and Hon. John Benson, who appointed Italian born Augustus Cesari Bertelli as Managing Director.
The many wealthy and often aristocratic customers would breeze into the works greeting him with “I say, Bertie, old chum….”
The company built the Ulster between 1934 and 1935 which had an in line 4 cylinder 1495cc, single overhead camshaft which featured an advanced dry sump engine. It produced 80bhp at 5250rpm, had a top speed of 100mph, and named after the Ulster TT road race. The Ulster was the best performing of the pre war Astons.
Following the war, many manufacturers were suffering financial difficulties. David Brown (famous for tractors) acquired Aston Martin in 1947 for £20,500, and in 1948, purchased Lagonda for £52,000.
He made something of a false start with the underpowered four cylinder Aston Martin DB1 in 1948.
Despite the cars appreciation in value, the company was often financially troubled. In 1972, it was sold to a company called Company Developments Ltd, backed by a Birmingham based consortium and chaired by William Wilson. The company was then resold in 1975 to Peter Sprague and George Minden. The new owners pushed the company into modernising its line.
In 1980, Aston Martin had plans to buy MG, which did not materialise.
As worldwide sales of Astons shrank to three per week, Alan Curtis (chairman) together with fellow shareholders Sprague and Minden, had almost chosen to shut down the production and concentrate on service and restoration. Curtis attended the 1980 Pace sponsored Stirling Moss benefit day at Brands Hatch and met Victor Gauntlett.
Gauntlett bought a 12.5% stake in the company for £500,000 with Tim Hearley of CH Industrials taking a similar share. They then took over 50/50 ownership at the beginning of 1981, with Gauntlett as executive chairman. He also led the sales team, and after some development and a lot of publicity, was able to sell with success the Aston Martin Lagonda to Persian Gulf States.
They continued sponsoring racing events and all Aston Martin Owners Clubs events.
As trading became tighter in the petroleum market, and Aston required more time and money, Gauntlett agreed to sell his company ‘Pace’ to the Kuwait Investment Office in September 1983. He also agreed to sell his share holding to Peter Livanos.
September 1987 saw Ford take a share holding in the company. They placed Aston in the Premier Automotive Group, and substantially invested in new manufacturing and quickly ramped up production. In 1994, they opened a new factory at Banbury Road in Bloxham.
In 2006, under mounting pressure, an internal review of costs and realisable value on investment led Ford to consider divesting itself of parts of its Premier Automotive Group. After suggestions of selling Jaguar, Land Rover or Volvo, Ford decided to sell Aston by auction. At the end of August 2006, Ford announced that it would be willing to sell all or part of Aston.
The first round of the auction closed on 30 November 2006. On 12 March 2007, a consortium led by Prodrive chairman David Richards purchased Aston for £475m/$848m. Prodrive had no financial involvement in the deal, and Ford kept a stake in the company valued at £40m/$70m. The consortium also consisted of John Sinders and two Kuwaiti investment companies.
On 19 July 2007, the last car, a Vanquish S was produced at Newport Pagnell. Nearly 13000 cars had been produced their and all production was concentrated at Gaydon.
In January 2009, Aston announced that it would be entering the 2009 Le Mans 24 Hours race as a factory team in the LMP1 division. The company finished 13th.
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Aston Martin – some short history and why I chose this nickname
Posted by in Uncategorized on January 4, 2010
Aston Martin’s – How Good Are They?Well, let’s consider the fact that Kobe Briant jumped over this car…Among other things, how good is this car really? Is it worth buying at this point of economy really?I have to give some credit to this company as the New Year is approaching. Because I have a nickname associated, but not only. I like the name and I may like the car (never drove it – as of yet). I wish the best for the company in the New coming Year! I apologize for using their copyright name for my nickname, it was just a catchy name then when I chose this nickname. I will have to figure out something else some time soon!Some people apparently really like this car, which is why it must be so popular as it is today. This is a company from Britain. Aston Martin Lagonda Limited is it’s full name. It manufactures luxury cars===The company name is derived from the name of one of the company’s founders, Lionel Martin, and from the Aston Hill speed hillclimb near Aston Clinton in Buckinghamshire[2] – Wikipedia excerpt.===In 1913 Lionel Martin and Robert Bamford founded the company ( I did not realize it has such a long history, really up until this moment of writing). ===The two had joined forces as Bamford & Martin the previous year to sell cars made by Singer from premises in Callow Street, London where they also serviced GWK and Calthorpe vehicles. – another quote from Wikipedia======Later that year, Bill Renwick, Augustus (Bert) Bertelli and a number of rich investors, including Lady Charnwood, took control of the company and renamed it Aston Martin Motors, and moved it to the former Whitehead Aircraft Limited works in Feltham. Renwick and Bertelli had been in partnership some years and had developed an overhead cam 4 cylinder engine, using Renwick’s patented combustion chamber design, and had tested it in an Enfield Allday chassis. It was the only ‘Renwick and Bertelli’ motor car made. It was known as ‘Buzzbox’ and survives to this day.-Wikipedia (again)==== = = = They had planned to sell this engine to motor manufacturers, but having heard that the Aston Martin car was no longer in production they realised that they could capitalise on the reputation of the Aston Martin name (what we would now call the brand) to give themselves a head start in the production of a completely new car.Between the years 1926 and 1937 Bertelli was the technical director of Aston Martin, and the designer of all subsequent Aston Martin cars during this period, these being known as the ‘Bertelli cars’. They included the 1 1/2 litre ‘T-type’, the ‘International, the ‘Le Mans, the ‘MKII’ its racing derivative the ‘Ulster, and the 2 litre 15/98 and its racing derivative the ‘Speed Model’.Mostly open two seater sports cars and mostly bodied by Bert Bertelli’s brother Enrico (Harry)a small number of long chassis four seater tourers, dropheads and saloons were also produced.Bertelli was very keen to race his cars and he was a very competent driver. One of the very few motor manufacturers to actually sit in and race the cars he designed and built, the competition no doubt ‘improved the breed’ and the ‘LM’ team cars were very successful in national and international motor racing including at Le Mans and the Mille Miglia.Financial problems reappeared in 1932 and the company was rescued by L. Prideaux Brune who funded it for the following year before passing the company on to Sir Arthur Sutherland. In 1936, the company decided to concentrate on road cars. Car production had always been on a small scale and until the advent of World War II halted work only about 700 had been made. During the war years aircraft components were made.= = = = From WikipediaMy Comments: I like classic and antique cars really and in New Year I will try and credit this company by possibly bying a car from them (after I start doing better with my business). This is a great car in so many aspects starting from ellegance, luxury, design and overall performance and ending with charm, looks and physical appeal. And, of course, the ladies will like the colour red with you sitting in the middle of it!It has participated in different movies, most notably James Bond. Also the famous TV series “The Persuaders”. Sir Roger Moore drove a yellow model there. So it has been featured in several high-profile movies and TV series. I would recommend this classic to everyone who is considering, well, a classic car for themselves. Over the century, many different models have been produced, such as:- Aston Martin DB3- Aston Martin DB3S- Aston Martin DBR1- Aston Martin DBR2- Aston Martin DBR3- Aston Martin DBR4- Aston Martin DBR5- Aston Martin DP212 – Aston Martin DP214- Aston Martin DP215- Aston Martin RHAM/1- Aston Martin AMR2- Aston Martin DBR9- Aston Martin DBRS9And others (after 2005, never drove none of these new models either).Well, I wish you a happy New Year!
