SUBSCRIBE TO THE
MAGAZINE NOW
Facebook-f Instagram

Aston Martin LM19: race star to star honours

25 March, 2015

As with most of the world’s prestigious auto manufacturers, Aston Martin had a factory-works team building cars to compete in the annual Le Mans 24-hour race. Aston Martin’s LM-series of cars were individually numbered from LM1 to LM23 — the first two of these took part in the 1928 Le Mans. The Aston Martin works team’s development of the LM cars began to ramp up over the following seven years, and by 1935, the team produced four special LM-series cars, widely regarded as amongst the best pre-war sports cars.

Three of these cars — LM18, LM19, and LM20 — were built to race in the gruelling Le Mans 24-hour Grand Prix d’Endurance, where they would perform admirably. Thomas Fothringham drove LM19 hard and at the head of the pack, before crashing after nine hours. LM20, however, would finish third overall, and claim the Biennial Cup for Aston Martin.

LM19 would go on to be rebuilt by the works team, and raced by Charlie Martin at the Ards public-road circuit in Northern Ireland. Though the fastest amongst the works cars, faulty piping resulted in low oil pressure, and LM19 — and the rest of the works cars — retired to the pits.

The next year, in 1936, LM19 was sent to compete in the legendary thousand-mile Mille Miglia road race in Italy. The car once again performed well, driven by Tom Clarke and Maurice Falkner, and by Rome, LM19 was an hour and a half ahead of the next competitor in class. Unfortunately, a valve-train issue saw the end once more to what should have been a standout victory.

After its racing career, LM19 was taken in and maintained by the same family since 1969. It is in exemplary condition — valued at an estimated estimated £1,600,000–2,200,000 — and is now to be auctioned at Bonhams Festival of Speed Sale in June where, fittingly, it will be taking star honours.

Grand Routier — in the french tradition

10 July, 2025

Sitting in Paddy and Patsy Williams’ Dunedin garage is a stunning example of one of these rare French grand routier sedans. It is a 1949 four-door Lago-Record Factory Berline sedan, to give its full name. Daughter Cath let us know how proud she was of her dad, who had been tinkering away in his garage on this car for so many years.
Without exaggeration, it has been a mammoth task. I first saw this Talbot-Lago in mid 2019. The long-nosed, sweeping, curved four-door saloon, clothed in its misty green metallic paint, was quite breathtaking. There’s more than a little English influence in it, too, harking back to company owner Tony Lago’s involvement in the Clement-Talbot-Darracq era. The long front wings and bonnet, usually multi-louvred, highlighted with artful touches of chrome bling, are typical of the era, but these were indeed luxury length. Interiors provided leather-clad, armchair-style seating and ample legroom, with touches of wood and surprising details such as dainty childproof interior locks — a far cry from today’s lozenge boxes.
Paddy, a retired civil and structural engineer, knows his way around a lathe. He has a well-equipped garage-workshop to assist in any machining tasks along with his other passion for restoring classic motorcycles.

The Great River Road

4 July, 2025

A few years ago my family, knowing my fondness for driving, gave me the book Unforgettable Road Trips: Thirty-Six Drives of a Lifetime by Martin Derrick. Most of the road trips listed take less than a day in places like Scotland, Monaco, and Australia, plus one in New Zealand. Most of these places were too far to go just for a short drive but four of them would take several days. My interest was piqued, and those four drives were added to the bucket list. To date, I have done three of them: ‘Route 66’ (USA 21 days), ‘State Highway 6’ (NZ 10 days) and ‘The Great River Road’ (USA 22 days). You can drive all of them in less time, but you could also fly over them. We wanted a decent immersion in their charms.
The great river referred to is the Mississippi. While the name conjures the deep south, the river actually starts at the bottom of the great lakes, before emptying into the Gulf of Mexico about 3800km later. The great road is more of a concept than a specific strip of tarmac, as you can drive down either side of the river on various routes. Regardless of which side you drive, time should be kept aside for detours to places such as Nashville, which is famous for something or other.