Motorsport developer Prodrive is reported to have made a bid for luxury car maker Aston Martin.

The Banbury-based firm is said to be in discussions with Ford and offered £450m for the iconic brand and is said to be in talks with investors from the US and Middle East about funding the deal.

Prodrive has had a long relationship with Aston, and builds the DBR9 model.

Aston Martin had a plant near Bloxham until it relocated to a new facility at Gaydon in 2003.

Ford put it up for sale last year in a bid to offload its non-core assets and raise cash after recording a £6.6bn loss.

An announcement about Aston's sale is expected from Ford within days.