Aston Martin: 100 years of sports car excellence
Aston Martin’s Centenary Celebration
- Should racing activities be distinct from a brand’s mainstream image?
- Can a brand’s racing success attract new consumers?
- How important is the DB line to Aston Martin?
- Is there any marketing tactic that you expect from the brand during its 100 year anniversary?
“In my opinion . . .”
Aston Martin’s Centenary celebration today, specifically the brand’s film series on its DB line deserves a hearthfelt “well done mate . . . we’re glad you’re still here.”David Brown’s “DB” series is legendary and goes all the way back to the DB1 series (my dad had a DB2 and DB3 when I was a kid). Aston Martin doing without the DB acronym would be like Porsche dropping the Carrera line. It would be ignoring the rich heritage that helped bring Aston Martin to where it is today. Sean Connery as 007 drove a DB5, so what would James Bond drive in the future—an Aston Martin “Eco Sport” or something? Never!
Since “100” is the number in the anniversary, among other things I would highlight a long history of high performance: In part, how in 1958, the newest Aston Martin to debut at the London Motor show—the DB4—was the first production road car capable of repeated acceleration runs from 0-100 mph in 21 seconds, and 0-100-0 mph in under 30 seconds—astonishing performance for the day. With help of some favorable magazine tests, that DB4 successfully introduced a new era for Aston Martin and made the company competitive again against other high performance sports car manufacturers of the day.
Of course, 30 seconds from stop to 100 and back again is no great feat today, but some of us appreciate the heritage, legacy and pedigree, and that 0-100-0 story is just one page in a long history book that makes the brand most desirable today.
Long live this lovely, historic marque. I hope we can still recognize your DNA after the next 100 years.
Image credit: Aston Martin UK
