Henri Chapron

Henri Chapron (30 December 1886 - 14 May 1978) was a prominent French automobile coachbuilder. His atelier, created in 1919, was located in the Paris suburb of Levallois-Perret.

Chapron was born in Nouan-le-Fuzelier (Sologne), and began his career developing custom body designs for French luxury vehicles, like Talbot, Delage, and Delahaye, in the 1920s.

As France ceased building vehicles of this type in the 1950s, Chapron switched his attention to the recently launched Citroën DS with its revolutionary aerodynamic design and radical hydraulic suspension. At first Chapron purchased these vehicles and customised them as one-off conversions. Many of these became unique convertible variants of the DS known as the "Décapotable". All told, Chapron created 389 hand-built DS convertibles.

In 1961, the Citroën dealership network began distributing a standard 'usine' (factory) two door convertible. In the years 1961 to 1971, 1,365 of these vehicles were made - they are highly collectible today.

Citroën DS

The Citroën DS (French pronunciation: ​[sitʁoɛn de ɛs]) is a front-engine, front-wheel-drive executive car manufactured and marketed by the French company Citroën from 1955 to 1975 in sedan, wagon/estate and convertible body configurations. Italian sculptor and industrial designer Flaminio Bertoni and the French aeronautical engineer André Lefèbvre styled and engineered the car. Paul Magès developed the hydropneumatic self-levelling suspension.

Noted for its aerodynamic, futuristic body design and innovative technology, the DS set new standards in ride quality, handling, and braking. Citroën sold 1,455,746 cars, including 1,330,755  built at the manufacturer's original mass-production plant in Paris at the Quai André-Citroën (previously the Quai de Javel).

The DS was the first mass production car with disc brakes.

The DS came third in the 1999 Car of the Century poll recognizing the world's most influential auto designs and was named the most beautiful car of all time by Classic & Sports Car magazine.

Aston Martin

Aston Martin Lagonda Limited is a British manufacturer of luxury sports cars and grand tourers. It was founded in 1913 by Lionel Martin and Robert Bamford.

The firm became associated with luxury grand touring cars in the 1950s and 1960s, and with the fictional character James Bond following his use of a DB5 model in the 1964 film Goldfinger.

The company has had a chequered financial history, including bankruptcy in the 1970s, but has also enjoyed long periods of success and stability, including under the ownership of David Brown, from 1947 to 1972 and of the Ford Motor Company from 1994 to 2007.

In March 2007, a consortium of investors, led by David Richards, purchased 92% of Aston Martin for £479 million, with Ford retaining a £40 million stake. David Richards became chairman of Aston Martin. In December 2012, the Italian private equity fund Investindustrial signed a deal to buy 37.5% of Aston Martin, investing £150 million as a capital increase.

History

Founding

Aston Martin was founded in 1913 by Lionel Martin and Robert Bamford. The two had joined forces as Bamford & Martin the previous year to sell cars made by Singer from premises in Callow Street, London where they also serviced GWK and Calthorpe vehicles. Martin raced specials at Aston Hill near Aston Clinton, and the pair decided to make their own vehicles. The first car to be named Aston Martin was created by Martin by fitting a four-cylinder Coventry-Simplex engine to the chassis of a 1908 Isotta-Fraschini.