1952 Aston-Butterworth Grand Prix Monoposto

Offered by Bonhams | Goodwood, U.K. | September 10, 2016

Photo – Bonhams

For starters: no, this car has nothing to do with Aston Martin. The Aston-Butterworth was the project of Bill Aston. He started with a Cooper Mark I chassis and then used an engine from Archie Butterworth to create this Formula 2 racer. Remember, about this time, Formula 2 was the formula used for the World Championship, like modern Formula 1.

Butterworth’s engine is a 2.0-liter flat-four that makes 140 horsepower. Aston raced one of the cars himself, and built a second (this car) for Robin Montgomerie-Charrington who DNF’d at the 1952 Belgian Grand Prix after running in the top 10.

This car passed through a couple of owners before being bought at auction in 1999 and completely restored in 2004. The current owner acquired the car in 2014 and actually got to use it in a few historic events. This car, one of two from a little-known Grand Prix team should bring between $79,000-$100,000. Click here for more info and here for more from Bonhams in Goodwood.

Update: Not sold.