Aston Martin

Certain car brands bring certain things to mind. Toyota and Honda evoke thoughts of economy and reliability. Others, like Aston Martin, are known for exquisite beauty and terrifying amounts of raw power.

Long sporting pedigree

British car maker Aston Martin has always been a sports car brand. The company started as Bamford and Martin in 1913, according to the company's website, producing small numbers of sport cars geared for hill climbing, a motor sport requiring ample power. One of the events, the Aston Hill Climb, led to the cars being named Aston Martin, the first of which was registered in 1915.

After production was halted by the First World War, the company, officially called Aston Martin Motors Ltd., began making cars for motor sport in earnest, entering them in prestigious races such as the Grand Prix and Le Mans, and the small company began building a reputation as a quality sport car maker despite never building a high volume of units. Production stalled again during World War II but quickly resumed afterward, continuing to build small numbers of high-performance luxury sports cars and competing in racing, winning two Formula One world championships.

Aston Martin flourished after being taken over by Sir David Brown, for whom the legendary DB series is named. Ownership changed hands frequently from the '70s until today, but Aston has continued to make cars of serious performance, style and quality.

The most famous car in the world

It is almost impossible to mention Aston Martin without bringing up James Bond. Astons were written into the novels by Bond creator Ian Fleming and the Aston Martin DB5 was made a film star in its own right when a gadget-laden DB5 was driven by Sean Connery in "Goldfinger." That model is considered the single most well-known car in the world.

Every actor to play the character has driven an Aston on screen as Bond, except for Roger Moore, who, as it turns out, drove Astons in other roles, according to Wikipedia.

Aston has never made many cars. According to the company's website, Aston Martin had been in business more than 70 years before they had made 70,000 total units. There will never be many of them, which makes the few that are available special. Power, luxury and exclusivity go with the territory.