Aston Martin Gallery

This is the most successful racing Aston Martin of all. In 1959 it won both the Le Mans 24 hour race and the Sportscar World Championship, helped by the efforts of Stirling Moss behind the wheel. Under the metallic British Racing Green skin was a 195bhp 2.9-litre straight-six.

The DB4 combined stunning Italian looks with British brute force. Carrozzia Touring of Milan styled the body, while under the bonnet was an English engineered 240bhp 3.7-litre motor. It was the first Aston to be built at the firm's Newport Pagnell plant.

Could this be the most famous car in the world? The DB5 instantly gained worldwide recognition when it became the company car of James Bond. With a 282bhp motor and 140mph top speed, it was more than capable of evading SPECTRE agents.

When it was launched, the first generation DBS was a radical design departure for Aston. The traditional curves of the DB6 were replaced by straight lines and sharp angles. It was the last model to use a straight-six engine until the DB7 appeared 22 years later.

Designed by William Towns, the Lagonda has been the firm's most controversial offering. The wild styling and complex electronic dashboard were more than traditional Aston owners could cope with, particularly when they considered the poor reliability record. Over 11 years just 645 were sold.

In 1969 Aston unleashed its first V8 engined model. Based on the DBS it featured a 320bhp 5.3-litre unit. High performance Vantage versions meant the British company was finally admitted to the supercar club. The final examples had 435bhp and a top speed in excess of 170mph.

This was the ultimate development of the V8 version. Designed and built by Italian styling house Zagato, it was capable of 185mph. During Eighties financial boom these rarities - just 50 were built - would change hands for nearly £500,000.

Developed in a short amount of time and with a small budget, the Virage was the first all-new Aston for 20 years. The 5.3-litre powerplant got 32 valves and 330bhp, while a convertible Volante version arrived in 1992. And yes, those are VW Scirocco rear lamps!

Even today this Vantage is considered to be the greatest ever. Under the pumped up bodywork is a 550bhp twin-supercharged version of the familiar V8. The final, limited edition model had a colossal 600bhp and a supercar chasing 200mph top speed.

When Ford bought Aston in 1988 it provided much needed cash for an entry-level model. Built at a new plant in Bloxham and based on the stillborn Jaguar F-Type, it had a supercharged 3.2-litre straight-six. Last versions got 435bhp 6.0-litre V12 and epic exhaust note.

When it was unveiled at the 2002 Paris Show, the Zagato styled limited edition sold out immediately. Only 100 were built, each based on a shortened DB7 platform. Like many of the Italian coachbuilder's motors it featured the trademark 'double bubble' roof.

The Vanquish was the last Aston to be built at the firm's Newport Pagnell factory. Gorgeous bodywork hid hi-tech extruded aluminium and carbon fibre chassis, 460bhp 6.0-litre V12 and six-speed semi-auto gearbox.

The DB9 was the first vehicle to roll out of Aston's cutting edge factory at Gaydon. Designed by Ian Callum it features 'swan' doors and 450bhp version of the 6.0-litre V12. Race prepared DBR9 won GT1 class at 2007 Le Mans 24 hours, nearly 50 years after first victory.

Intended as a Porsche 911 rival, the latest baby Aston features a 380bhp 4.3-litre V8. The powerplant is mounted so far back behind the front axle that it almost makes the Vantage mid-engined. GT version (above) is strong contender for world's most unlikely rally car.

The DBS name returned for the Vanquish replacement. Based on the DB9, it gets a 510bhp 6.0-litre V12, bulging bodywork and carbon cermic brakes. In keeping with its hardcore image, the £160,000 range-topper gets adaptive dampers and six-speed manual gearbox.

James Bond was the first customer for the new DBS - and this is the result. Underneath the mangled metal of this 'Casino Royale' stunt car is a DB9 development hack. When it was crashed for the camera, it actually set a new world record for barrel rolls with seven complete revolutions.