By Steve Waddingham
2025 review by James Loveridge
There are plenty of books about individual competition cars: Porter Press’s “Great Cars” series is an outstanding example. Steve Waddingham’s recently published LM4: The Life Story of an Aston Martin is also about one particular car but rather different from that series as the focus is very much on the people involved with the car. It was built in 1930, has a fully known competition history and poses no particular technical or engineering significance but Steve, who is Aston Martin’s full time historian, has put together the really interesting and informative story of LM4 and shows it to be a delightful little car, in this beautifully produced and lavishly illustrated book.
Not much information about the car itself is given apart from its essential details such as engine, transmission etc. on page 17 and then what work has been done to it over the more than 90 years of its existence to keep it as authentic and usable as possible.
The car was built as a works car by Bert Bertelli for himself to race featuring narrower body, no doors, only two seats etc. to distinguish it from the other LMs intended for sale to customers and extra special care was taken to lighten it and improve its performance so it could be useful in competition. It was raced a couple of times in 1930 in the Brooklands Double Twelve and in the Irish Grand Prix at Phoenix Park. There it was in the first day’s racing, the Saorstat Cup for cars up to 1,500 cc and Sammy Davis, well-known motoring journalist and Le Mans winner, drove. In both races it performed creditably but then was sold. The remainder of this 216-page, 14 by 10 inch book is the tale of what happened to it and, as important to Steve’s story, who owned it up to the present day.
What is very clear is that an immense amount of work and time has been put into compiling this book; there are five pages of acknowledgements to those people who helped Steve in putting this quite fascinating history together, as well as mentions in the text of other individuals and organizations he encountered in his researches.
Steve has identified at least eight people in considerable detail and also mentions those who advertised the car for sale, such as Ecurie Bertelli Limited. Considerable details are given of the first two known owners, who clearly enjoyed using the car. Then came a period in its life when it came into the ownership of various RAF people, the first of whom was Harold Bevan who became a bomb aimer and won a Distinguished Flying Cross. Next came Dennis Hughes, a fighter ace with five credited kills and also a DFC winner. Staying with its RAF connection the next owner was John Davis, a commercial artist and, in the war, ground crew, rising to the rank of Warrant Officer. He owned the car for 44 years during which it deteriorated badly and when he passed it on in 1987 to Rob Davies, as Steve puts it was “beyond his means to restore it.” Rob did restore the car whilst keeping it as original as possible, keeping several of the salvaged parts.
Richard Ashman, the next owner, used the car for its intended purposes and ran it in the Le Mans Classic in 2002 and 2004 but then it passed into the hands of the aforementioned Ecurie Bertelli until it was acquired by it current owners, Jonathon Lupton and Katie Sharman. In their care it has been fully re-fettled with the result that in the 2023 Le Mans Classic it took first place in its “plateau” (class) and received a most impressive trophy to go on the mantlepiece.
With the help of racing driver and Le Mans class winner Darren Turner, who has penned an affectionate foreword, Jonathan and Katie have ensured LM4 continues to be the racing car it was designed and built to be.
In writing this book Steve has visited, along with the car wherever possible, many of the places with which it has been associated and the result has been some extraordinarily attractive photographs. I’m not sure one can properly talk about the life story of an inanimate object but that is what Steve has entitled his book and it certainly tells a lively story and is thoroughly recommended. It is published by a Belgian publisher, Oblique Books BV. Zarrenstraat 3, 8650 Houthuist, Belgium and copies can be had by e-mailing Katie@ StoneacreCottages.co.uk for £125.00 plus p & p.
Publisher: Oblique Books BV
Price: £125.00 plus postage, direct from Katie@ StoneacreCottages.co.uk
Description: 216 pages, hardback published without a dust jacket, 24.6cm x 34.7cm. Many illustrations in black & white and colour.
ISBN: 978-90904015-5 -3
A superb book about a most interesting car and its remarkable owners from new right up to date. The photography and design are outstanding and the research is a tribute to the dedication of the author.