Aston Martin gallery

The first product under company director David Brown made its debut in 1948. It was called the 2-Litre Sports, and was a far cry from today’s monster supercars – with 90bhp on tap and a 93mph top speed. Despite the modest figures, a prototype was entered into the 24 hour race at Spa, winning outright.

The Aston even non-car buffs instantly recognise, and all thanks to the man the company is unavoidably linked with – Bond, James Bond. While production cars didn’t feature 007’s enviable gadget-count, they did pack a 4-litre engine with 282bhp – much more like the stuff of Astons. Over a thousand were produced from 1963-5. Mint examples are now worth £250,000.

Another car with Bond connections, the 1977 incarnation of the V8 Vantage is a different beast to the one we have today – this was a supercar at the very top of its game, with a 170mph top speed and a quicker 0-60 time than the other great GT of the time, Ferrari’s Daytona. It was all thanks to a thunderous 5.3-litre V8.

One of the rarest and most valuable Astons was spawned from the ’77 V8 Vantage. With bodywork by the Italian coachbuilder Zagato, who has since worked on DB7s, and a heightened 186mph top speed, it was – and still is – highly desirable. Just 52 coupes and 37 convertibles were produced.

High luxury, high performance, and a high kerb-weight. Yet despite knocking on for two tonnes, the Vantage – whose 5.3-litre V8 now came twin-supercharged – could hit 60mph in just 4.6 seconds, all thanks to 550bhp and 745Nm of torque. It soldiered on until the turn of the century, to be replaced by the far more technological Vanquish.

The first car developed under Ford management put Aston truly on the map. Penned by Ian Callum, it was the curviest car from the company in a long time. Its six-cylinder 3.2-litre engine was replaced by a 6.0-litre V12 in 1999 in the face of tough competition. By the time the DB9 replaced it, 7,000 DB7s had been produced.

The 2005 V8 is a far cry from the hardcore Vantages of old. While still very much a performance car, its leaner weight, hatchback body and (comparatively) low price make it a different breed of Aston. A V12 Vantage RS, due in 2009, should be a genuine supercar worrier.

Another Aston driven by Mr Bond, this DB9-based coupe is the current flagship of the Aston range. It uses a revised version of the 6.0-litre V12 from the DBR9 racing car, pushing out a mighty 510bhp. A bit too much to handle for some, as anyone who saw the dramatic barrel-rolling stunt in Casino Royale will know.