the company went in and out of business a few times between world war i and world war ii. lionel martin left the company in 1926. the company was sold from one person to another many times until 1947, when david brown bought it. david brown also bought lagonda, and used lagonda engines in his cars. aston martin cars built when david brown owned the company had the letters "db" in the name. an aston martin won the 24-hour race at le mans in 1959.