Half the name comes from a hill climb, the wings came from the age of aviation, and the feathers were added in 1932 by a racing driver who edited The Autocar.
- Country
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United Kingdom - Active
- Since 1913
- Founded by
- Lionel Martin and Robert Bamford
- Website
- Official website ↗
A hill climb, a mews and a coal scuttle
Half of the name belongs to a hill. In January 1913 Lionel Martin and Robert Bamford joined forces in a small London workshop on Henniker Mews, in Kensington, and the business was incorporated as Bamford and Martin Ltd. Martin loved hill climbs, and the Aston Clinton hill climb in Buckinghamshire, where he won in the pair’s latest creation, gave the company its first word. His own surname gave it the second.
The first car arrived in 1914. Aston Martin’s own timeline calls it the Coal Scuttle, which tells you a lot about early-twentieth-century humour. By 1921 the third car, chassis A3, was rolling out of the Kensington base. Martin drove it himself, set light-car speed records with it and raced it at Kop Hill and Brooklands.
The most famous chapter began with a newspaper. In February 1947 industrialist David Brown saw an advert for a high-end motor business and bought the company. That same year he also picked up Lagonda, whose engine became the heart of the DB2. His initials went onto the cars, and they are still there.
Brown bought the coachbuilder Tickford of Newport Pagnell in 1954, and the Buckinghamshire town became the brand’s home for decades. In 2003 Aston Martin moved to Gaydon in Warwickshire, its first purpose-built facility and still its headquarters. In 2020 Lawrence Stroll became Executive Chairman alongside significant new investment, and in 2021 the name returned to Formula One as a works team after more than sixty years away.
Before the wings: Kate Martin’s button
The first Aston Martin badge had no wings at all. According to the brand’s own account, the 1920 design was led by Kate Martin, Lionel’s wife: a circular button with an interlocking A and M in dark green, a nod to British racing green. It stayed on the cars until early 1927, and it was on the nose of TT1, the company’s first Grand Prix car. In July 2022 the Formula One team put that original button logo back on its cars for a weekend to mark 100 years since the first Grand Prix entry.
What the wings stand for
The wings arrived in 1927, replacing the round logo. Aston Martin says they reflected the era’s fascination with aviation and that they symbolised speed. The full company name now ran across the middle. Who drew them is not known: the brand itself lists the designer as unknown. In 1930 the badge was redesigned with tapered, pointed wings in a V shape.
Then came 1932, the year Aston Martin says the logo took the form most people associate with the name. The wings gained feathers, and the words sat in silver inside a black rectangle. The designer was Sammy Davis, a racing driver and editor of The Autocar. The company ties the design to the 1930s craze for Egyptology: the ancient Egyptians saw the scarab beetle as an extension of the sun god and a sign of new beginnings, fitting for a firm whose ownership had just been restructured. The badge was first seen on the LM1 racer, which Davis bought and turned into his everyday car, then on marketing material, then on every production car.
Some logo fans will tell you the feathers were a jab at Bentley and its winged B. That idea does not appear anywhere in Aston Martin’s own explanation, so treat it as pub talk.
Owners left their mark too. David Brown’s name was added to the badge in 1954 and removed when he sold the company in 1972. In 1984 the wings were simplified and modernised: the Aston Martin lettering grew, the wings stretched wider and lower, and the result lasted almost two decades. A further modernisation in 2003 coincided with the opening of Gaydon.
2022: the eighth set of wings
On 20 July 2022 Aston Martin unveiled the wings you see today, created by its in-house design team with British art director and graphic designer Peter Saville, and described in the announcement as only the eighth significant adjustment in 109 years. The changes are quiet on purpose. The semi-circular line that ran through the wings was removed, the outlines became slightly thicker and the green behind the name became solid. Saville called it “a classic example of the necessary evolution of logotypes of provenance”.
The physical badge is hand-crafted by artisans in Birmingham’s jewellery quarter, at the silversmith Vaughtons, and it appeared first on the Formula One livery at the 2022 French Grand Prix before reaching the next generation of sports cars from 2023.
Why the green
Green has been in the badge since day one. The 1920 button used dark green as a nod to British racing green. The 1932 wings swapped to silver lettering on black, and the solid green panel behind the name is one of the features the 2022 redesign brought to the front.
The cars that wore the wings
Few badges have had better luck with casting. Aston Martin’s own timeline reads like a highlights reel, from a record-setting light car to Le Mans and a certain secret agent.
Landmark Aston Martins, decade by decade
- 1914: Coal Scuttle. The first Aston Martin, built soon after the company was incorporated.
- 1921: A3. The third car. Lionel Martin set light-car speed records in it and raced it at Kop Hill and Brooklands.
- 1950: DB2. The first of the David Brown era proper, powered by the engine that came with Lagonda.
- 1959: DBR1. Took the top two places at the Le Mans 24 Hours.
- 1963: DB5. Built from 1963 to 1965 and, in Aston Martin’s words, forever immortalised in Goldfinger and Thunderball.
- 1994: DB7. Built in Bloxham, it carried the DB name into the modern era.
- 2021: Valkyrie. Described by Aston Martin as being as close as possible to a Formula One car without being restricted to the track.
Aston Martin is a publicly listed company in its own right, trading as Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings plc. Compare its wings with the winged B of Bentley, the leaper of Jaguar or the Spirit of Ecstasy at Rolls-Royce, and read more about how car logos are designed.
Frequently asked questions
What do the Aston Martin wings mean?
According to Aston Martin, the wings introduced in 1927 symbolised speed and reflected the era’s fascination with aviation. The feathered 1932 version drew on the Egyptian scarab beetle, a symbol of new beginnings.
Who designed the Aston Martin logo?
Three names are on record. Kate Martin led the design of the 1920 button badge, racing driver and Autocar editor Sammy Davis designed the feathered wings of 1932, and Peter Saville worked with the in-house team on the 2022 version. The designer of the first wings of 1927 is unknown.
Where does the name Aston Martin come from?
From the Aston Clinton hill climb in Buckinghamshire, where co-founder Lionel Martin won, combined with Martin’s own surname. The company was founded in London in 1913.
When did Aston Martin last change its logo?
In July 2022. The update removed the line running through the wings, thickened the outlines and made the green behind the name solid. It was the first change since 2003.
What does DB stand for on Aston Martins?
David Brown, the industrialist who bought the company in February 1947. His name also sat on the badge itself from 1954 until he sold the firm in 1972.
From Henniker Mews to Gaydon: the wings file
- Founded
- 1913
- Founder
- Lionel Martin and Robert Bamford
- Country
- United Kingdom
- Headquarters
- Gaydon, United Kingdom
- Current emblem
- Open feathered wings with the Aston Martin name on a green panel, redrawn in 2022 with Peter Saville
- Known for
- British luxury sports cars and grand tourers, the DB line and James Bond's DB5
- Website
- Official website ↗
