Aston Martin is looking for its first car

Exactly a century ago, the machine was sold for £50.

Kate Martin, wife of Aston Martin founder Lionel Martin, in Coal Scuttle, with mechanic Jack Addis alongside AMHT

Photo by: Aston Martin

Angel Sergeev

By: Angel Sergeev

Aug 26, 2024 at 2:55am ET

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In what sounds like the plot of a motoring mystery novel, the Aston Martin Heritage Trust (AMHT) has launched a worldwide search for a missing piece of automotive history: Aston Martin’s first-ever car, affectionately known as the Coal Scuttle. It was the brainchild of Lionel Martin and Robert Bamford, the dynamic duo behind what would become the iconic Aston Martin brand.

Built in the summer of 1914, this humble vehicle served as the cornerstone for a company that would go on to create some of the world’s most coveted luxury sports cars. The car’s basic, functional design apparently reminded folks of the coal buckets found in just about every home in Britain a century ago. Not exactly a sleek moniker, but hey, even James Bond had to start somewhere.

Coal Scuttle in Henniker Mews, London, the place where it was built in 1914 AMHT

Aston Martin

Despite its less-than-glamorous nickname, the Coal Scuttle was no slouch. Registered officially as an Aston-Martin on 16 March, 1915, the car earned its stripes (and a Gold Medal) in the London to Edinburgh Trial, a gruelling test of endurance and engineering that was the ultimate proving ground of the day. It even had a bit of a makeover now and then, sporting different front wings, lamps, and horns as it raced its way through the early 1920s, stopping for photo ops and even enjoying a scenic fishing trip to Loch Awe.

But by 1924, the Coal Scuttle had gone from the racetrack to the sale block, fetching £50 – a tidy sum back then, but a steal if you knew what it would become. And then, poof! It vanished, leaving behind nothing but a trail of grainy photos and the dreams of car enthusiasts everywhere.

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Now, 100 years after its disappearance, the AMHT is calling on car lovers worldwide to check their garages, barns, and sheds for any sign of this missing legend. With the annual Aston Martin festival just around the corner, the Trust hopes to either find the Coal Scuttle or at least uncover the mystery of what happened to it.

“We are very fortunate here at the AMHT to have the oldest known Aston Martin in existence, now known as A3, along with extensive records from the earliest days of the company and priceless artefacts from across the history of the brand, but, to date, Coal Scuttle has eluded us. Now, as we prepare for our annual festival when hundreds of Aston Martin owners from across the world will join us for our annual celebration of the brand, we are appealing to car enthusiasts to help us find that very first car, or discover definitively what became of it,” Garry Taylor, Treasurer of the AMHT, explained.

Source: Aston Martin

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