Aston Martin is a British manufacturer of top-class luxury and sports cars. The brand was founded in 1913 by Lionel Martin and Robert Bambord. In 1947, David Brown took over the reins, during whose era the famous Aston Martin DB4 to DB6 and their successor models DBS and V8 were created. Brown was followed by William Willson, Sprague and Curtis and Victor Gauntlett. From 1987, Aston Martin belonged to the Ford Motor Company. During this time, models such as the DB7 and DB9 were created. From 2007 to 2018, Aston Martin was privately owned; in 2018, the brand went public on the London Stock Exchange.