- Aston Martin's history organization is looking for the automaker's first car
- The first Aston Martin was completed in 1915
- The car doesn't have an official name, but its nickname is Coal Scuttle
The Aston Martin Heritage Trust, a charitable organization set up to help preserve the history of Aston Martin and oversee its museum, is on the hunt for the first car built by the automaker.
Aston Martin was founded in 1913 by entrepreneurs and avid racing fans Robert Bamford and Lionel Martin, originally as Bamford & Martin.
The two were already working together selling cars built by the British brand Singer, but in 1913 they formed their own company and started work designing a high-end sports car to challenge cars like those being offered by Bugatti at the time.
Production of the first car, officially a prototype, started in 1914 but ran into 1915 due to the onset of the First World War. Despite the challenges, including Bamford fighting in the war, the car was completed and finally registered on March 16, 1915.
Kate Martin behind the wheel of the 1915 Aston Martin Coal Scuttle
It didn't have a name, and the nickname Coal Scuttle was soon attached because of the car's crude styling which resembled a common household item of the time used for hauling coal.
As Bamford & Martin would build more cars, the company would later refer to the car as chassis number one, or A1. The oldest Aston Martin whose whereabouts are known is chassis number three, the A3, which was built in 1921 and acquired by the Aston Martin Heritage Trust in 2002.
After the war, Bamford chose to step back from Bamford & Martin and passed his shareholding to Martin's wife, Kate Martin. The company still had the Coal Scuttle, which it used for promotional events, but in 1924 it sold the car and not long after that it goes off the radar. The company ran into financial difficulties the following year and Martin ended up selling it, with the new owners renaming it Aston Martin. The “Aston” portion the name was taken from Aston Clinton, where the company's cars regularly took part in hill climbs.
The Aston Martin Heritage Trust has put the word out that if anyone knows of the Coal Scuttle's existence or what may have happened to it, to get in contact.
