1933 Aston Martin Le Mans

Lionel Martin and Robert Bamford began selling Singer automobiles in 1912 in Callow Street, London where they also serviced Calthorpe and GWK vehicles. A year later, they founded Aston-Martin (the hyphen is correct for the period). The vehicles quickly established a reputation for its sporty and high-performance persona. The management concentrated heavily on motorsports which provided publicity but distracted it from the road-going production business. Focusing most of its time and resources on motorsports resulted in as-many-as 50 (or so) vehicles being sold by 1925 and the company underwent the first of what would be several changes of ownership.

In 1926 the Aston Martin Motors Ltd. was established under the stewardship of Augustus 'Bert' Bertelli and William Renwick. Production was at the firm's new Feltham works facilities and the first 'new generation' Aston Martins was put on display at the 1927 London Motor Show at Olympia. Management understood that competition perfects the breed and was essential for promoting the product, so two works racers were sanctioned for construction for the 1928 season. The engines were based on the 1.5-liter, overhead-camshaft road car and fitted with dry-sump lubrication, which was later fitted to the International Sport model, newly introduced for 1929. It was constructed in two wheelbase lengths of 102- and 118-inches and produced until 1932. Most of the bodies were constructed by Augustus's brother Enrico 'Harry' Bertelli.

The cars produced between 1926 and 1937 are commonly referred to as the 'Bertelli cars.' During this time the company introduced the 1.5-litre 'T-Type', 'International', 'Le Mans', 'MKII', 'Ulster', '2-Litre 15/98', and the 'Speed Model.' A few examples rested on long-chassis with four-seater tourer bodies, dropheads, and saloons. Most examples received the open two-seater sports coachwork by Enrico Bertelli.

The 1st Series International competition versions were known as the 'Le Mans' in recognition of Aston's class win and 5th place overall in the 1931 Le Mans race. The justification for using this name was solidified a year later when the model placed 5th and 7th overall and collected the Rudge-Whitworth Biennial Cup. 1932 was the same year the company once again found itself with financial problems. The world was experiencing the Great Depression and the Aston Martin company was not immune to its effects. Aston Martin was soon rescued for a year by Lance Prideaux Brune before it was sold to Sir Arthur Sutherland.

During the early 1930s, with high priced cars experiencing slow sales, management at Feltham decided to redesign the International chassis, using proprietary components to reduce cost. The coachwork remained unchanged, however, the chassis frame was redesigned, the troublesome worm axle was replaced by an ENV spiral bevel, and a Laycock gearbox was mounted in unit with the engine. These changes brought about a new name, the 'New International,' and its price was reduced to £475, though the Le Mans remained considerably more expensive at £595.

The '2nd Series' New International and two-seater Le Mans did not remain in production for long, disappearing from the lineup before the close of 1932. Aston Martin had introduced the Le Mans 2/4-seater, available on the long chassis as the Le Mans Special four-seater, at that year's Motor Show. Between February 1932 and December 1933, 85 examples of the 2nd Series Le Mans models were built with 17 being long-wheelbase examples.