Here are nine of Aston Martin’s greatest hits

When the World Sportscar Championship regulations changed in the mid-Fifties, manufacturers no longer had to race road-legal cars at Le Mans. So, with a clean slate Aston created the DBR1 and took its only outright victory in the French 24hr race in 1959.

Possibly one of the best looking Aston Martins ever was actually born purely for competition purposes. Yep, Zagato’s stunning take on the DB4 was more aerodynamic and – thanks to aluminium body panels rather than steel – lighter than the standard car.

For many, the DB5 is the Aston Martin. It’s also the Bond car thanks to its time on screen with Sean Connery (and Pierce Brosnan and Daniel Craig). It’s so synonymous with Bond that when it came to making modern day continuations, Aston fitted 25 examples with full 007 gadgetry.

Based on the gorgeous DB9, the race spec DBR9 wasn’t just a pretty face. In fact, with top engineering outfit Prodrive onboard running things, the V12-engined racer won the GT1 class at Le Mans in both 2007 and 2008. One of the cars even raced with the number #007.

The One-77 was a 750bhp V12-engined work of art meant to be so exclusive that Aston banned all media from driving the car. So, Top Gear magazine promptly got on a plane to the Arabian Peninsula and found an obliging owner who’d just stumped up the £1.2m asking price.

This 836bhp, manual gearboxed one-off borrowed its chassis from the One-77 and used a fettled version of its engine. It was designed to pay homage to the Seventies V8 Vantage and other brutish Astons of the era. Rumour has it the owner paid around £5m for the car.

Worried your Aston Martin isn’t practical enough? You need the Vanquish Zagato Shooting Brake. It was part of a four-strong Vanquish Zag collection that also included a coupe, convertible and speedster.

The Bulldog earns its place here because it’s like nothing else Aston’s ever built. Conceived in 1979, the concept car was supposed to spawn a very limited production run. Sadly, it never happened, but the one car that was built was recently recommissioned and managed over 200mph.

When Aston stuck its 6.0-litre V12 engine into its smallest sports car it was producing 510bhp and 420lb ft of torque, good for 0–62mph in 4.2secs and a 190mph top speed. It also made for an instant classic with its naturally aspirated engine and manual gearbox. What a moment.