Photo: Bonhams
In the glamorous world of million dollar collectible car auctions, there are a few vehicles somehow designed from square one to be far more interesting than Ferrari and Jaguar sports cars from the golden age of motoring - the 1960s. But the vehicle we’re talking about today pushes the envelope by a considerable margin - the Aston Martin Atom experimental factory prototype is the only example of the breed ever built and it carries a lot of Aston Martin history on its shoulders.
Styled in the most avant-garde of ways, the aerodynamic Atom was built sometime in 1939 or 1940 and it’s basically an unique forerunner of the beautifully designed Aston Martins from the 1950s and 1960s. The 75-year old machine is one of the world’s oldest fully running concept cars. Underneath the elegant V-shaped bonnet, a 1,970cc inline-four derived from an Aston Martin 15/98 engine lied at first, but after WW II was finally over, the Atom received the very first in a range of absolutely exquisite powerplants - the then newly patented 2.0-liter DB1 mill.
Underneath the aluminium bodyshell, you’ll find a lightweight yet rigid tubular spaceframe chassis that laid the foundation for the legendary Mercedes-Benz 300SL Gullwing, which used a multi-tubular spaceframe design. Another significant feature built into the Aston Martin Atom is the parallel-linkage coil-sprung independent front suspension, as well as the first U.K. use of the popular Salisbury rear axle. Further more, swapping cogs was done by a Cotal electromagnetic semi-automatic gearbox, the predecessor of the paddle-shift design.
It’s no wonder not many people (including petrolheads) aren’t aware of the Atom’s existence. Since it first entered private ownership, the one-off factory prototype was something that concerned only the super wealthy aristocrats which had a passion to collect extremely rare vehicles. It’s quite similar to those characters that like to show off their hunting trophies to buddies that enjoy the questionable thing, but it’s more humane than slaying an endangered animal.
Nowdays, the Aston Martin Atom is taxed, tested, registered and it presents itself in pristine condition even though it is believed to have completed 250,000 miles during its life. Slated to be auctioned off by Bonhams for a big amount of pounds sterling this weekend at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, the lucky new owner of the one-of-a-kind 1939/1940 Aston Martin Atom will also be given an impressive collection of photographs and documents that chart this landmark machine’s provenance, along with essential, valuable running spares.
Underneath the aluminium bodyshell, you’ll find a lightweight yet rigid tubular spaceframe chassis that laid the foundation for the legendary Mercedes-Benz 300SL Gullwing, which used a multi-tubular spaceframe design. Another significant feature built into the Aston Martin Atom is the parallel-linkage coil-sprung independent front suspension, as well as the first U.K. use of the popular Salisbury rear axle. Further more, swapping cogs was done by a Cotal electromagnetic semi-automatic gearbox, the predecessor of the paddle-shift design.
It’s no wonder not many people (including petrolheads) aren’t aware of the Atom’s existence. Since it first entered private ownership, the one-off factory prototype was something that concerned only the super wealthy aristocrats which had a passion to collect extremely rare vehicles. It’s quite similar to those characters that like to show off their hunting trophies to buddies that enjoy the questionable thing, but it’s more humane than slaying an endangered animal.
Nowdays, the Aston Martin Atom is taxed, tested, registered and it presents itself in pristine condition even though it is believed to have completed 250,000 miles during its life. Slated to be auctioned off by Bonhams for a big amount of pounds sterling this weekend at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, the lucky new owner of the one-of-a-kind 1939/1940 Aston Martin Atom will also be given an impressive collection of photographs and documents that chart this landmark machine’s provenance, along with essential, valuable running spares.
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