Aston Martin is celebrating its 110th anniversary in 2023. The automaker put its legacy on display during the British Grand Prix weekend, putting 110 Astons on Silverstone Circuit. The automaker also touted the opening of its new Formula One campus at the track.
The parade of cars celebrated 11 decades of the brand, with its past, present, and future in attendance. The brand-new DB12 joined classics like the A3, Aston’s oldest surviving car at over 100 years old. Aston revealed the new DB12 in May, with a 671-horsepower V8 engine under the hood, which it got from Mercedes-AMG.
The new Valkyrie hypercar and DBX707 crossover were also on the track, with Aston owners from around the world descending on the location to take part in the lap. The FIA Safety and Medical cars were also on the grid, which added an Aston Martin Vantage and DBX707 to the lineup.
The automaker also celebrated opening its Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant Formula One Technology Campus, a 400,000-square-foot facility. It’ll be the headquarters for the F1 team. It’s the first of three buildings being constructed at the track. A separate wind tunnel is halfway complete, and Aston will replace the original factory building from 1992.
The new building is home to over 700 employees who work in the team’s design office, engineering, production, and manufacturing areas. Once complete, the facility will put manufacturing in one location for the first time in the vehicle’s history. The new facilities come as the automaker finds success in the racing series.
Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso finished seventh at the 2023 British Grand Prix and now sits in third place overall in the drivers’ standings. He’s 19 points behind Red Bull’s Sergio Perez, with Max Verstappen in first with 255 points. Teammate Lance Stroll didn’t make it into the points, finishing 14th behind Hass’s Nico Hulkenberg. Aston Martin is third in the Constructors’ World Championship with 181 points, trailing Mercedes at 203. Ferrari is in fourth with 157 points.
Its racing endeavors are a piece of a larger puzzle. Aston recently announced a deal with Geely to supply the British automaker with certain parts to speed up development and cut costs. The company wants to sell around 7,000 vehicles this year. Electric vehicles are part of the brand’s strategy, announcing a partnership with Lucid to supply Aston with particular battery and powertrain components. The first EV is expected in 2025.
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