Aston A3 returns to Brooklands after 90 years

It's always a special event when a historic car is taken back to a circuit on which it competed in period, but the tortuous journey this Aston Martin has taken to get here makes it even more interesting. The fourth Aston Martin prototype built (and designated A3), had, even in the first few years of its life, been altered several times in appearance and drivetrain. The car was used as both a development hack and a racer, with appearances in its various guises at hill climb and sprint events throughout the country, including, of course, at Brooklands in 1922 where it was driven by Count Zborowski in the JCC 200 Mile Race.

The car was rediscovered in 2002 and has subsequently been the subject of an in-depth restoration by Ecurie Bertelli to return it, as close as possible, to original specification. Still fresh from this rebuild, Paul Chudecki – a long-time Aston fanatic – recently had the opportunity to drive the car at Brooklands, the first time the car had been back there for more than 90 years. Read more about this historically important motor car in the April issue of The Automobile, which is out now.