Aston Martin
1½ Litre Ulster

Why it matters

The Ulster was Aston Martin's customer version of the three Mark II team cars that raced in the 1934 Ulster Tourist Trophy, sold to amateur racers with a guaranteed top speed of 100 mph. Only 31 were built, including ten team cars, and 28 are reported to survive. Bonhams, quoting Michael Bowler, calls it the apotheosis of the pre-war sporting Aston Martin.

How rare is it?

Six separate kinds of rarity – never combined into one number.

Each kind of rarity is rated separately and never combined.

Production

Every figure says what it counts.

Independent counts (e.g. engine and colour) are never combined into a calculated figure. Surviving examples are never presented as original production.

History

Aston Martin showed the Ulster at the Olympia Motor Show in October 1934 as a replica of the three cars that ran in that year's Tourist Trophy at Ards, where the team finished 1st, 2nd and 3rd in class. It was built on the shorter of the two Mark II chassis. The engine was tuned and assembled more carefully, with polished ports, domed pistons and a stepped cylinder head, and the body was a lightweight door-less two-seater.

The cars were also raced at Le Mans. A works car numbered LM20 finished third overall in 1935, and a customer Ulster, chassis F4/447/S, finished 15th overall that year. Bonhams records that the 31 cars include ten team cars and that the whereabouts of all survivors are well known.

Technical specifications

Engine

Transmission & drivetrain

Chassis, body & dimensions

Performance

“Not yet verified” means no source has been checked for that value yet. Nothing is estimated to fill a gap.

Identification guide

How to tell an original from a replica or later conversion.

Genuine Ulsters use the short Mark II chassis, about 8 ft 7 in (2.59 m) in wheelbase, with chassis and engine numbers that match, for example F4/447/S. Period features include domed pistons and a stepped cylinder head giving a 9.5:1 compression ratio, a Laystall crankshaft, and higher-specification valves and springs than other Mark II cars. The body is a light door-less two-seater. Details recorded by the factory include a matt black dashboard, a radiator surround painted in body colour, and split pins on every chassis nut. Chrome radiators were rare: Bonhams notes only two Ulsters had them.

Sources

Each number links to the exact facts it supports.

1. 1
   Ecurie Bertelli – Ulster (Bertelli 1934–1935) Level B

   • 21 production Ulsters ("ten works team cars and twenty-one production 'Ulsters' were built"; the ten works team cars are not included in this figure)

   Accessed 2026-11-11
2. 2
   1934 Aston Martin Ulster Two-seater Sports, chassis F4/447/S (Les Grandes Marques du Monde a Paris) Level C Bonhams · 2023-02-02

   • Of the 31 Ulsters built, including 10 team cars, 28 survive
   • raising the compression ratio to 9.5:1
   • increase in maximum power to around 85bhp
   • Short (2,59 m) wheelbase Mark II (French text)
   • dry weight of 18cwt (914 kg) (French text)
   • every Ulster was guaranteed to exceed 100mph

   Accessed 2026-11-12
3. 3
   1934 Aston Martin Ulster, The Tegernsee Auction, lot 119 Level C RM Sotheby's

   • 28 out of the 31 originally built are thought to remain
   • overhead camshaft four-cylinder
   • 1,500-cc, high-compression, overhead camshaft four-cylinder
   • fed by twin SU carburettors

   Accessed 2026-11-12