Victor Gauntlett

Victor Gauntlett (1942 to 2003) was an English petrochemical entrepreneur and car enthusiast, best known for building the largest independent petrol retail business in the United Kingdom and for reviving Aston Martin. After training as a pilot in the RAF and working for British Petroleum and the French oil group Compagnie Francaise des Petroles, he founded the independent oil company Hays Petroleum Services, which traded as Pace Petroleum, in 1972, and by 1980 it supplied more than 450 garages. That year he bought a stake in Aston Martin and became its executive chairman. He steered the car maker through several changes of ownership, revived its collaboration with the Italian styling house Zagato, launched the Virage, and arranged the return of James Bond to the marque. He sold a majority stake to Ford in 1987 and handed the chairmanship to Walter Hayes in 1991. He later founded Proteus Petroleum, which he sold to Texaco in 1998, and served as a trustee of motoring and aviation museums.