Prodrive boss David Richards is believed to have purchased the brand for £500m with support from a consortium of American and Middle Eastern businesses.

Ford is understoof to have favoured Prodrive’s offer partly because the team already runs Aston Martin’s DBR9 racing cars (pictured) in the FIA GT series, Le Mans 24 Hours and similar events.

Prodrive is also entering Formula One in 2008, leading to speculation that it may run an F1 team under the Aston Martin brand.

Aston Martin sold a record 7,010 cars in 2006. Forthcoming models include the DBS as seen in last year’s hit James Bond film Casino Royale. This will be followed by a new V8 convertible, and a four door model called the Rapide is expected in 2008.

Unsuccessful bidders for Aston Martin include technology firm Doughty Hanson, Simon Halabi, a Syrian property businessman and billionaire Nelson Peltz.