Aston Martin A1: searching for the marque’s first car

By Lizzie Pope
News
 | 22 Aug 2024
Classic & Sports Car – Aston Martin A1: searching for the marque’s first car

Can you help find the first Aston Martin?

That’s what the Aston Martin Heritage Trust hopes.

It has launched an appeal to track down the first car constructed by Bamford & Martin Ltd, the company which soon became Aston Martin.

The car was built in 1914 and its appearance earned it the nickname ‘Coal Scuttle’, which at the time was an everyday household object; it was retrospectively given chassis number A1.

It was last heard of 100 years ago when, in 1924, it was sold for £50, and in the photo above it’s shown with Kate Martin, wife of Aston Martin founder Lionel Martin, mechanic Jack Addis standing alongside.

Classic & Sports Car – Aston Martin A1: searching for the marque’s first car

The first Aston Martin has been lost for 100 years

The Coal Scuttle was built in the summer of 1914 by a small team of engineers led by marque founders Lionel Martin and Robert Bamford, and despite the outbreak of the First World War in July of that year, which interrupted the model’s development, Lionel Martin was still able to formally register the car as an ‘Aston-Martin’ on 16 March 1915.

When peacetime came, Bamford & Martin Ltd entered its one and only car into Britain’s first post-war sporting event, the challenging London to Edinburgh Trial, which it finished and won a Gold Medal.

In the early 1920s, the Coal Scuttle/A1 was developed and tested, driven all over the UK and also campaigned at Brooklands, a promotional tool as much as an engineering project.

The AMHT knows that at this busy time, the car had more than one set of front wings, carried a variety of lamps and horns, and received mechanical upgrades.

In 1924 it was sold for £50, a reasonable sum a century ago, and nothing is known of it today.

“If it was eventually scrapped, did parts of it survive, such as the beautiful radiator housing? Being the first Aston Martin, the car lacked any external badges so, if the radiator was saved as a memento, is it hanging on a wall somewhere, unidentified?” asks Aston Martin company historian and AMHT trustee, Steve Waddingham.

“Did the well-worn open body get replaced? Was the chassis used to build a Special or some sort?

“The oldest-known Aston Martin, prototype A3, had survived for many years hidden under homemade bodywork. So, in a similar vein, did Coal Scuttle live on in another form? Are the rusting remains in an orchard somewhere or hidden in a barn? Anything is possible.”

He adds: “If anyone knows more about the car, or has unidentified automotive remains they think could be relevant, we would dearly love to hear about it.”

If you can help, contact the AMHT here. The Aston Martin Heritage Festival returns on 31 August 2024 at the British Motor Museum, Gaydon.

Images: Aston Martin Heritage Trust

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