15/98 2 Litre 2/4 seater
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15/98 2 Litre 2/4 seater

15/98 2 Litre 2/4 seater

(short chassis - Coachwork by Abbey Coachworks of Willesden) (1937 - 1939)

After the decision to reduce the number of 2 litre saloons to be built from 100 to just 50 was made, Gordon Sutherland had to introduce a revised model to take up the production capacity. So a short chassis (8' 6'') was introduced with the standard wet sump engine with the intention that the cars were to be more sporty than the 2 litre saloon and tourers built on the long chassis but not out-and-out sportscars as such. The 15/98 was a common designation used at the time that denoted Britain’s “taxable” vs. measured horsepower.

15/98 2 Litre 2/4 seater

A.C. Bertelli resigned as a director early in 1937 after falling out with it’s new owners, the Sutherland family. This also broke the link with coachbuilder, E. Bertelli Ltd, run by the brother of A.C. Bertelli, allowing other coachbuilding companies to build bodies for production Aston Martins. Also at this time, E. Bertelli were most upset when the contract for the long chassis saloons was cut from 100 to just 50 examples.

Abbey Coachworks of Willesden produced a smart body of sporting appearance which was shown at the 1937 Motor Show (the first at Earls Court). The list price for the 2/4 seater was £575 complete and a total of 50 examples were built, almost all of which still survive in original form.

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The absolute epitome of a 30’s roadster, the style of which can still be seen today in the sportscars made by the Morgan Company in Malvern, England. With 98bhp on tap from the 1949cc 4 cylinder engine, allows for a top speed of over 85mph.