Car Articles

Based in Gaydon, Warwickshire, Aston Martin has been manufacturing luxury sports car for about nine decades now and is as British as the Queen of England herself. Aston Martin was founded in 1913 by Lionel Martin and Robert Bamford. They acquired land at Henniker Place in Kensington and produced their first car in March 1915. Hoever, production of the car could not start because of the World War I, and while Martin joined the Admiralty, Bamford joined the Royal Army Service Corps. All machinery was sold to the Sopwith Aviation Company.

After the war, the duo returned and the company restarted at Abingdon Road, Kensington. They designed a new car that carried the Aston Martin name. That was the beginning and since then, the company has manufactured a number of incredibly stylish supercars including the DB9 and the Vanquish. Aston Martin has stood the test of time and that can be accounted to its British lineage.

Jaguar was founded initially, in 1922, as the Swallow Sidecar Company by two motorcycling enthusiasts. Before switching to passenger cars, the company manufactured motorcycle sidecars. Swallow Sidecar Company came to be known as SS Jaguar before the entire company was rechristened to The Jaguar in 1945. Ford Motor Company bought the famous luxury car brand in 1989 and then sold it to the Indian carmaker, Tata Motors, in March 2008.

Jaguar brand has always been associated with highest degree of luxury, class and sophistication. In its history of about eight decades, Jaguar has showcased large executive and compact executive saloons, racing cars and concept cars. The current Jaguar models include Jaguar XF, Jaguar XJ and Jaguar XK. The fact that Jaguar is now owned by an Indian carmaker does not hamper the British royalty that has been always associated with it.

In 1884, Henry Royce started an electrical and mechanical business and he made his first car, a two-cylinder Royce 10, in his Manchester factory in 1904. Later in the year, he met Charles Rolls who agreed to take all the cars that Royce made and sell them under the Rolls Royce brand. Some of the vehicles launched by the Rolls Royce are the Silver Spur, the Phantom series and the Ghost series.

Currently a subsidiary of the German BMW group, Rolls Royce continues to be known as the car of millionaires - classic, large vehicles that are often used as limousines. Rolls Royce carries the British heritage even today and produces exclusive and expensive models like the Phantom that remains an immediate favorite of international celebrities like P Diddy, 50 Cents and Amitabh Bachchan.