Collection Item

Aston Martin 'Side valve' Tourer

One of the earliest surviving Aston Martins, with a chequered history

Unlike the company’s specialist racers with sophisticated overhead-camshaft engines, the early touring Aston Martins had simple side-valve engines. First delivered to the Midlands in 1924, this car was used as a tractor by the Home Guard during the Second World War before ending up in a scrap yard.

It was rescued in 1945 by a Cambridge medical student who built it a new body and used it for 16 years. It finished up back on a scrap heap in 1961 before the fourth and present owner, James Cheyne, rescued and restored the car to its original condition.