1934 Aston Martin MKII 1.5L Short Chassis Chassis number: D4/415/S - Desirable short-chassis version - One of only 48 Mark II 1.5L short-chassis examples of the 61 originally built - Part of the Louwmann collection for over 30 years - French registration "Lovers of big cars tend to think that effortless, fast driving is the preserve of heavily powered cars; they're going to have to change their minds once they've covered 500 km with the Aston Martin." - Motor Sport magazine, about the Aston Martin MKII in 1934.

The first Aston Martins (hyphenated in those days), built by Robert Bamford and Lionel Martin, gained a reputation in the immediate aftermath of the Great War as high-performance cars capable of sporting feats.

Unfortunately, the company's management, focused on the publicity-generating sporting activities, underestimated the need to sell the cars produced; as a result, only around 50 cars were sold in 1925, the year in which the company changed hands f...