Halford Special Aston Martin

One of the most advanced race cars of the mid-1920s, the Halford Special was built by engine designer Major Frank Halford using Aston Martin chassis, number ‘1916’. In its original configuration, this chassis was the first Aston Martin built for sale and competed at Brooklands in 1923 before crashing in a race in a Voiturette inBoulogne the following year.

Following the crash, Major Frank Halford purchased the chassis and created a new two-seater body alongside two new engines. Both engines were 1.5-litre, six-cylinder, in-line units with aluminium blocks and crankcases, twin overhead camshafts and twelve inclined valves, very advanced for the time. With experience in aircraft design, Halford attempted to fit a turbocharger to one of the engines. While it proved unreliable in tests, it is believed to have been the first-ever turbocharged road racing car.

It first raced at Brooklands in 1925 sporting a 2.0-litre Roots-type supercharger, the Aston Martin Radiator was not able to dissipate the heat from the more powerful engine, so a bigger engine was fitted with the ‘Halford Special’ badge fitted, it has been known as the Halford Special ever since. The second engine was further developed with twin magnetos and produced 120 horsepower - the race car’s current engine. It raced extensively from 1925-1927, achieving fifth place in the Montlhéry French Grand Prix and a rather unfortunate DNF at the British Grand Prix amongst numerous race wins and top 5 places, see the history timeline for full details. 

In the 1928 it was sold to Viscount Ridley who dismantled it fitting one of its engines in a speedboat (which sank shortly thereafter) and the other in a Bugatti Type 35. The late 1970s saw the Halford Special restored with considerable effort by its current owner, who tracked down the original parts including one of the original engines. Its second restoration came in 2008, following a crash at Silverstone during a VSCC race meet.  The current owner has enjoyed competing widely in VSCC, Goodwood and AMOC events with considerable success.

 The Halford Special has been confirmed as eligible for the 2026 Monaco Historic Grand Prix (100 years after its first Grand Prix!) and would be welcome at the top race events.