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| Aston Martin Ulster (from the author's collection) |
Dad took this picture at the Larz Anderson Estate (or possible at Raceland) in the mid-1950. This image is a bit different than most as it doesn't show an antique car, but at the time, a used sports car. However, an Aston Martin Ulster has always been something special.
Aston Martin was taken over by A.C. Bertelli in and 1927 and he is said to have contributed to the design of a new 1.5 liter SOHC engine that the company would campaign within its works race cars. The outing that this new racer first achieved success happened to the Tourist Trophy race held in Ulster (Northern Ireland). The cars would take the Ulster name from then on and the factory would race them at Brooklands and Le Mans with great success. From 1934 through 1936, the company would produce a street/race car named the ULster in tribute to the factory team cars. Although I found conflicting production number, it appears that roughly 21 of these cars were built and all are said to be accounted for - one of which is seen here. The car pictured would have had an aluminum body, a four-speed transmission, and produced around 100hp - strong performance, even in the 1950s.
I don't know who owned the car at the time or where it is today. However, I'm confident it's still out there, probably being raced, as it should be. Also, interesting to note, is the 1938 or 39 Cadillac V16 sitting beside it.
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