The Aston Martin Heritage Trust (AMHT) is looking for the first car built by the British brand. The only problem is, it’s been missing for 100 years.
Officially named the ‘A1’ – but known colloquially as the ‘Coal Scuttle’ – Aston Martin (then known as Bamford and Martin) built its first car in 1914, a 1.4-litre four-cylinder open-top sports car.
For reference, a coal bin is a metal container with a tilted lid used to hold coal for a campfire. See the resemblance?
The Bamford and Martin prototype was not registered until 1915, from which point it was used as the British marque’s sole demonstration car, clocking up the miles over nine years.
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From cross-country tours to focused testing, the Coal Scuttle served as a testing ground for future Aston Martins and a marketing tool to attract future customers.
During this process, the car was modified and upgraded, causing its appearance to change from the original.
Company founders Lionel Martin and Robert Bamford eventually put Coal Scuttle up for auction in 1924, attracting a winning bid of £50 – the equivalent of £2,546 ($4,966) today.
What happened to Coal Scuttle after that? No one knows.
There is no evidence of the car’s movement over the past century, posing a major challenge for AMHT in its quest to recover the car and display it at the Aston Martin Museum.
The best case scenario is that Coal Scuttle is sitting in some warehouse like any other ‘great find in a warehouse’.
Worst case scenario… it’s no longer with us.
AMHT has sent a request for information on Coal Ccuttle’s whereabouts, but it is not yet known whether that request has been responded to.
THAN: Everything Aston Martin
