The Aston Martin Heritage Trust (AMHT) is searching for the first car ever built by the British brand. The only problem? It’s been missing for 100 years.
Officially coined ‘A1’ – but colloquially known as ‘Coal Scuttle’ – Aston Martin (known then as Bamford and Martin) built its first vehicle back in 1914, a 1.4-litre four cylinder open-top sports car.
For reference, a coal scuttle is a metal container with a sloping lid used to carry coal for a domestic fire. Can you see the resemblance?
The Bamford and Martin prototype wasn’t registered until 1915, from which point it was used as the British marque’s sole demonstrator car, racking up the kilometres over a period of nine years.
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From cross-country tours to concentrated testing, Coal Scuttle was the test bed for Aston Martins to come, and a marketing tool to attract future customers.
The car was modified and upgraded in the process, with its appearance subsequently changing from the original.
Company founders Lionel Martin and Robert Bamford eventually sent Coal Scuttle to auction in 1924, attracting a winning bid of £50 – equivalent to £2546 (A$4966) today.
What happened to Coal Scuttle after that? Well, nobody knows.
Evidence of its movements over the last century is non-existent, posing a massive challenge for the AMHT in its mission to recover the car and display it at the Aston Martin Museum.
Best case scenario, Coal Scuttle is laying low in a shed somewhere like any great ‘barn find’.
Worst case… it’s no longer with us.
The AMHT has sent out a request for information on the whereabouts of Coal Scuttle, but it remains to be seen if that call will be answered.
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