The below (blue) wonderful car (Le Mans 2/4 seater) was purchased new by the World Land Speed record holder, Sir Malcolm Campbell. It this perhaps the same shade of blue as his ‘Bluebirds’? History books describe something of an on / off relationship between Sir Malcolm and Aston Martin. At one time, he had a drive all fixed in a works car only to swap to a Mercedes before the race. Also he was critical of some of the cars that he tested for magazines and even described the Le Mans as ‘slow’. Of course, everything is slow in relation to the fastest car in the world.

The Le Mans was incredibly successful with in excess of 100 examples built. It was good looking with it’s low bonnet line (bodies by E. Bertelli Ltd. of course), plus the roof now folded inside the body. As it had become something of an Aston Martin ‘trade mark’, the cars were all fitted with cycle wings which turn with the front wheels.

This famous car was privately owned and raced by Prince Bira of Siam. These shots clearly show the chromed suspension arms and radiator much favoured by the Prince. In 1996, this car, or more correctly, the parts which eventually became this car, were sold at auction for £90,000, and after many months of painstaking restoration, this fine Ulster returned to the race track.

This is fabulously original customer Ulster. I believe that this car has been in the hands of the same family for many years. It also has a wonderfully rich racing history fully detailed in the AMHT register. The register is only available to members of the AMOC and is one best benefits of membership.

The above car was a rare sight at the 2013 AMOC Spring concours at Greenwich Royal Naval Collage.

The DBX707 AMR23 Edition cockpit combined the finest semi-aniline leather with carbon fibre veneers and finished with dark satin and carbon fibre jewellery. Exclusive “AMR23” sill plaques and lime green contrast stitching re-enforced the association with the Formula 1® team.

Inside, the AMR23 Edition adds striking lime contrast stitching to the Inspire Sport Duotone Onyx Black / Eifel Green semi-aniline leather interior, carbon fibre veneers and dark satin with carbon fibre jewellery. The AMR23 logo also appears on the door sills to re-enforced the association with the Formula 1® team.

At the 1927  motor show, Aston Martin unveiled the four door T-type saloon and T-type tourer on a longer 9′ 6” wheelbase chassis. Sadly, not only were they slow sellers, but the long chassis cars have had a very low rate of survival. The AM Register of cars lists 8 saloons built in total, none of which survives, and 6 tourers with only three survivors.

The below images are of T14, what appears to be the one of only three surviving 4 door T-type tourer in existence, photographed at both the 2003 AMOC St. John Horsfall race meeting at Silverstone and also during the Parade des Pilots and AMOC track parade at Le Mans in 2006. It was also chosen for the 101 car timeline, the centrepiece of the Aston Martin Centenary Celebration at Kensington Place in July 2013.

In early 2006, the company unveiled the DB9 based Rapide Concept and to many, this was the first four door Aston Martin that they became aware of. But the T-types from the late 1920’s show that Aston Martins with ample space and easy access for four people are obviously nothing new.

By buying into Aston Martin, the marque had acquired a new high quality, powerful engine. At this stage, I must mention that in engineering terms, there was no connection between the Bamford and Martin cars and the Bertelli cars. Aston Martin moved to a factory in Victoria Road in Feltham, Middlesex in late 1926 and by the 1927 Motor Show at Olympia, a new range of cars was first shown. An adjacent bodyshop in Victoria Road was also opened by A.C. Bertelli’s brother, Enrico (Harry) (known as E. Bertelli Ltd) and this is where a vast majority of Aston Martins received their coachbuilt bodies for the next ten years.

At the 1927 London Motor Show, the new Aston Martin Motors Ltd. unveiled three completely new models, the most sporty of which was a pretty 3 seater sports model (S-type) on a shorter, lower chassis. This first car was in fact just a mock-up and was dismantled after the show

The main image above is an example of a 1929 sports model with 2 seater bodywork. The 1495cc engine in its earliest form was able to deliver about 56 bhp, sufficient to power the sports model to about 80 mph. I photographed this car at the official opening of the new AMOC/AMHT headquarters, known as ‘the barn’ at Drayton St Leonard, Oxfordshire.

The 1.5 litre Bertelli cars have been classified by the AMOC in three separate series to aid understanding of their development. The first series cars are distinguished from later cars by their separate gearbox and worm drive rear axle.

Lost for many years, restoration from true dismantled ‘barn find’ condition began in the mid 2000’s even through it was missing both the engine and rear axle. This involved the sourcing of the last known correct wet sump engine, number TS18 by Andy Bell from Ecurie Bertelli. With unusual swept wings and wet sump engine, this particular car is quite unique. It is believed that the yellow coachwork is also the original colour from 1928.

The car was photographed during ‘The Quail – A Motorsports Gathering’ in 2013 as part of the Aston Martin class. It was part of the private Mallya Collection and was almost certainly the only pre-war Aston Martin registered in Alaska.

The above green car is chassis S25 is the last example of the Sports model to be built. I saw it in 2016 at the AMOC Autumn Concours it had been last used in 1972 when the owner was a student. It is incredibly rare and special in that it remains in virtually original condition having never been restored or had a body off rebuild. It is almost exactly as it left the factory in Feltham in 1929

These early cars sold very slowly and Aston Martin was close to being bankrupt. A new car, based on the short chassis S-type sports model but with modifications to the chassis and running gear became the much better selling  International.