Key facts
- Founded
- 1913
- Founded by
- Lionel Martin, Robert Bamford
- Country
- United Kingdom
- Headquarters
- Gaydon, Warwickshire, England
- Legal name
- Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings plc
- Famous models
- DB5, Vantage, DBX, DB11, Vanquish
- Slogan
- “Intensity. Driven.”
- Website
- www.astonmartin.com/en/welcome
Aston Martin Logo Meaning: What the Wings Symbolize
The Aston Martin symbol is a pair of outstretched wings with the company name set across the middle, and Aston Martin says the wings stand for speed. They first appeared in 1927, when car makers borrowed aviation imagery to cash in on the public’s excitement about record-breaking flights. It was an industry trend, not a founder’s love of flying.
Fan and dealer sites often add freedom, dreams and exploration, but the brand’s own explanation mentions only speed.
What is in the badge:
- Wings: the main element of the Aston Martin logo since 1927.
- Name: ASTON MARTIN in custom capital letters, placed across the center of the wings.
- Nothing else: no animal, crest or shield. The original 1920 monogram is the only official version without wings.
Aston Martin Logo History and Evolution
The Aston Martin logo has had eight significant versions, from a round AM button in 1920 to the wings redrawn in 2022. The company called the 2022 update only the eighth time in 109 years that the logo was significantly adjusted. Several changes line up with a change of owner, which helps when dating an old badge.
1920–1927: The AM Button Monogram
The first Aston Martin logo was a round button carrying an interlocking A and M. Kate Martin, Lionel Martin’s wife, led the design, taking cues from the top luxury car brands of the early 1920s. The brand describes it as dark green, a nod to British racing green, though period badges also appear in gold and black. Every car wore it until early 1927 except the Coal Scuttle.
What changed: the starting point, with initials and no wings. Some sites say 1921; Aston Martin says 1920.
1927–1930: The First Wings
In 1927 the monogram gave way to wings, with the full name spelled across them and the central M linked to the horizontal bars of the T. The badge had a bronze finish. It arrived in the Aston Martin Motors era, after investors took over in 1925–26. Aston Martin itself calls the designer a mystery, so claims that Augustus Bertelli drew it are unsupported.
What changed: wings and the full name replaced the initials.
1930–1932: Sharper, V-Shaped Wings
Around 1930 the wings became sleeker, with a sharper, more pointed V-shaped outline. The layout stayed the same, with a wing on each side and the name running through the middle.
What changed: the outline only, which became more angular.
1932–1954: Feathered Wings and the Scarab
The 1932 badge is the form most people still picture. The wings gained individual feathers and became simpler and straighter, and ASTON MARTIN was inscribed in silver inside a central black rectangle. Its designer was Sammy Davis, a racing driver and editor of Autocar, who took the Egyptian scarab, a symbol of new beginnings, as his inspiration after the company’s ownership was restructured. It was first seen on the LM1 racer, which Davis later used as his everyday car.
What changed: feathers and a name panel. A “1939” silver-and-black version on some sites is not an official redesign.
1954–1984: The David Brown Name
David Brown bought Aston Martin in 1947, adding Lagonda and moving production to Newport Pagnell. His name went above ASTON MARTIN inside the panel and was fitted to production road cars from 1954, although some sources say 1950. The line was removed when he sold the company in 1972, and the name-only badge carried on until 1984.
What changed: a second line, DAVID BROWN, above the brand name.
1984–2003: Simpler, Wider Wings
In 1984 the wings were simplified and modernized. They were stretched out sideways but made lower, and the ASTON MARTIN inscription grew larger inside the panel. It refined the 1932 idea rather than replacing it and lasted almost two decades. Some sites say 1987, but the official gallery says 1984.
What changed: fewer, cleaner feathers and bigger lettering.
2003–2022: The Old Aston Martin Logo (Gaydon Era)
The old Aston Martin logo that most people remember arrived in 2003, when the wings were modernized for the launch of the Gaydon headquarters in Warwickshire, the company’s first purpose-built factory. The letters became thinner and sharper and sat in a dark-green rectangle. The flat version usually shows the wordmark again below the wings. This design ran for 19 years.
What changed: clearer feather lines, finer letters and the green panel.
2022–Today: The New Aston Martin Logo
The new Aston Martin logo was unveiled on July 20, 2022, together with a brand repositioning built around the idea “Intensity. Driven.” The in-house design team created it with graphic designer Peter Saville, known for his Factory Records and New Order work. The wings have a more streamlined feather pattern and a new typeface, and the flat logo is drawn in black and white. At the 2022 French Grand Prix the F1 team showed the new wings and carried the 1920 button on the car’s nose, 100 years after the brand’s first Grand Prix.
What changed: streamlined wings and new lettering. Sites that say 2021 are mixing it up with Aston Martin’s return to F1 that year.
Dates differ between logo sites. This timeline follows Aston Martin’s own announcements and official logo gallery.
Aston Martin Logo vs Bentley Logo: How to Tell Them Apart
Look at the center. The Aston Martin car logo runs the brand name across the middle of the wings, while the Bentley logo puts a large letter B in a round badge between its wings. The current Chrysler logo has no center badge at all, just a thin wing shape under the CHRYSLER wordmark.
| Brand | What’s in the center | Wing style | Text on the badge |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aston Martin | ASTON MARTIN in a rectangular panel | Broad, flat wings with bold feather lines | Name inside the wings, often repeated below |
| Bentley | A capital B in a circle | Swept wings with fine feather lines | BENTLEY below the wings |
| Chrysler | Nothing | One slim, stylized wing line, no feathers | CHRYSLER above the wings |
Quick tell: letters across the middle mean Aston Martin, and a single B means Bentley. For more winged badges, see our list of car logos with wings.
Aston Martin Logo Colors and Font
The current Aston Martin logo is black and white. Green belongs to earlier versions: the brand describes the 1920 button as dark green, and the 2003–2022 badge set the name in a dark-green panel. That is why black, green and white are usually listed as its colors.
- Font: the lettering is custom uppercase type. Names such as Carisma Classic come from font-identifier sites and are look-alikes, not the official typeface.
- Hex codes: values such as #004225 that circulate online are generic British racing green, not figures from an official Aston Martin brand guide.
Where the Name Aston Martin Comes From
The name joins Lionel Martin’s surname with Aston Hill, a speed hillclimb near Aston Clinton in Buckinghamshire where he raced his own cars. Martin and Robert Bamford had teamed up as Bamford & Martin in 1912, selling Singer cars in London, and founded the company on January 15, 1913. The often-repeated story of a race win in a Singer-10 has no support in the company’s history. The first car to carry the name had a Coventry-Simplex engine on a 1908 Isotta Fraschini chassis. Aston Martin’s country of origin is the United Kingdom; see more British car brands.
Aston Martin Logo on the Car: The Wings Emblem
On today’s cars, the Aston Martin emblem is a hand-enamelled badge. The 2022 wings are hand-crafted in Birmingham’s jewelry quarter by Vaughtons, silversmiths that were 203 years old at the launch, and they first went on the next generation of sports cars from 2023.
To date an Aston Martin logo on car bodywork or in an old photo, check the badge: a round AM button means before 1927, DAVID BROWN above the name means 1954–1972, and a green name panel points to 2003–2022.
Aston Martin Logo PNG: Free Download
The Aston Martin logo PNG at the top of this page shows the current 2022 wings and has a transparent background, so it sits on a light page without a white box. Use the download button under the main image. The wings belong to Aston Martin, so use the file to identify the brand in articles or presentations, not on products or as your own branding.
Frequently asked questions
Is Aston Martin still owned by Ford?
No. Ford took control in the late 1980s and early 1990s and sold Aston Martin in 2007 to a consortium led by David Richards of Prodrive. Sources disagree on when Ford's ownership began: Wikipedia gives a majority stake in 1987 and full control by 1993, while some logo sites say 1994.
Who owns Aston Martin now?
Aston Martin is a public company, Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings plc, listed in London since October 3, 2018. A consortium led by Lawrence Stroll bought into it in January 2020, and Stroll became executive chairman. His Yew Tree group held 18.3% after a 2022 share issue and planned to reach about a third in 2025.
Is the Aston Martin logo based on a bird?
No. The Aston Martin symbol shows only a pair of spread wings, with no head, beak or body, so it is not an eagle or any other bird. Stories that the emblem is a flying horse or the crest of a race track are also wrong. The wings have been the main design element since 1927.
Is Aston Martin a British or Italian brand?
British. Aston Martin was founded in London in 1913 and is based at Gaydon, Warwickshire, on the site of a former RAF V-bomber airfield. Its DBX SUV is built at St Athan in Wales. The company also holds a Royal Warrant, first granted in 1982 by the then Prince of Wales, now King Charles III.
Are Bentley and Aston Martin the same company?
No. Bentley is not part of Aston Martin Lagonda, whose only brands are Aston Martin and Lagonda. The two are separate carmakers with their own owners, factories and histories. People mix them up mainly because both badges use a pair of spread wings, which makes them hard to tell apart at a glance.
What is the Aston Martin slogan?
For many years the line was "Power, Beauty and Soul", sometimes written without the "and". In July 2022 Aston Martin replaced it with a new brand idea, "Intensity. Driven.", launched alongside the redesigned wings. The company described the repositioning as its largest brand investment in more than a decade.
Has Aston Martin ever gone bankrupt?
Yes, several times; Wikipedia counts seven. The first came in 1924, when the young company failed and was bought by Lady Charnwood. Investors including Bill Renwick and Augustus Bertelli then reorganized it as Aston Martin Motors in 1925 and 1926 and moved production to Feltham.
