Car of the Week: Aston Martin Le Mans Short Chassis

Featuring unique coachwork by Bertelli Ltd, this Le Mans Short Chassis was made as a one-off for R.H.Gregory. Gregory was a serial Aston Martin buyer,who acquired every new model the company produced on the understanding that he could personalise it.

For the Le Mans, Gregory asked that the rear end be modified to accommodate luggage and occasional passengers, and specified an integrated fuel tank rather than the ‘slab tank’ mounted to the outside of standard cars.

The bonnet was extended to reach the base of the windscreen, and its louvres slanted rearwards. The Le Mans was first restored in the 1960s during the ownership of brothers Rodney and Anthony Byles.

By 1997 the Aston was in the hands of German enthusiast Michael Solf, who refreshed it, applied for FIA historic racing paperwork, and then between 1998 and 2009 campaigned the car in several european races,trials and rallies.

In 2016 the car was entered in a competition of a different kind, the Salon Privé Concours at Blenheim Palace, where it won the award for most original Pre-War car and finished runner-up in the Pre-War coachwork class. The A ston was acquired by its current owner earlier this year.