Aston Martin
Works team cars LM3 & LM4

Why it matters

LM3 and LM4 were the second pair of Aston Martin works team cars, built in 1929 and 1930. LM3 is presented as the first lightweight car, and the pair showed the gearing and wheel changes that the works developed at Le Mans and Brooklands.

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

Both cars raced at Brooklands in the Double Twelve and at the Irish Grand Prix. LM3 was also run by the works in the RAC Tourist Trophy at Ards, where it crashed at the first corner and later retired.

LM3 then had four different bodies in three years, including a stub-tailed two-seater 'Sports Model' used as a works demonstrator, a long-tailed racing body in 1930 and, in 1932, a four-seater 'International' coachwork under which it was sold. Its chassis number was over-stamped so that it could be sold like a standard car.

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.

The LM3 and LM4 chassis numbers carry the works LM prefix, and LM3 was later over-stamped with a different chassis number when sold as an ordinary car, so number checks need care. LM3 had a third gear only a few hundred revs different from fourth for fast changes, and LM4 onwards ran 19-inch wheels. LM3 shows 14-inch brake drums that almost match the diameter of the wheels.

Sources

Each number links to the exact facts it supports.

1. 1
   Team cars LM1 to LM7 Level B Ecurie Bertelli

   • Two further team cars were built in 1929 and 1930, LM3 and LM4

   Accessed 2026-11-12
2. 2
   Ecurie Bertelli – Team cars LM1–LM7 Level B

   • 2 As stated: “Two further team cars were built in 1929 and 1930, LM3 and LM4.”

   Accessed 2026-11-12
3. 3
   1929 Aston Martin LM3 - The First Lightweight Level B Supercars.net

   • 14-inch brake drums that almost match the diameter of the wheels

   Accessed 2026-11-12