The original Aston Martin was built in 1914 by Lionel Martin and Robert Bramford, the Aston prefix deriving from the Aston Clinton Hill climb, where the car had successfully competed. The first car used an Isotta-Franschini light car chassis and was powered by a 1.4 litre Coventry-Simplex engine.
Full time production did not commence until 1923 however, and lasted only until 1925 when Bramford and Martin Ltd went into liquidation, after producing only approximately 50 cars. Various ownership changes occurred over the ensuing years until the company was purchased by the David Brown Group in 1947.
The first true production Bamford Martin chassis with wire wheels and front wheel brakes was chassis number 1919 (numbers started at 1900), and the last car of which there is any record was chassis number 1969. The chassis number of this vehicle is 1927. The car was built in 1923 for Major Harold Hall of London who then passed it on to a relative, Mr John E Goodall of Melbourne. It remained in the Goodall family for over 50 years before being purchased by Mr Lance Dixon in 1977. At the time of purchase it was missing all the alloy motor parts as they had been melted down during World War II. Remarkably, another motor was located from an identical vehicle in Australia, number 1923, and was subsequently fitted.
The vehicle is a short chassis side valve sports model fitted with the rare, narrow Grand Prix radiator and a Strasbourg style body. It competed in a wide range of events including the inaugural Australian Grand Prix in 1928.