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In 1923, Aston Martin created the Razor Blade team vehicle to beat AC Cars’ one-hour light car record of 101.39 mph (163.17 km/h). It had success in racing and record attempts in the 1920s, although failing to break the record.
The Light Car & Cyclecar magazine published an article in August 1923 that stated:
The newest Aston Martin racer… marks the most significant advancement in compact vehicle design for maximum efficiency.
On a custom manufactured narrow chassis with quarter elliptic springs at the back, standard Aston Martin parts were utilised. Registration number XO 9958, chassis number 1915. Aston Martin had previously designed the engine for the 1922 French Grand Prix. It had a four-cylinder design, two overhead camshafts, 16 valves, and 1.5 litres of capacity, and was based on half of a 1921 three-litre eight-cylinder Ballot engine. At 4,200 rpm, it generated 55 bhp (41 kW).
The de Havilland Aircraft Company manufactured the body, which is 18+12 inches (47 cm) broad at its widest point. It is considered to be the world’s thinnest racing vehicle. The body was supposed to be completely enclosed, but Lionel Martin couldn’t locate a driver tiny enough to fit in it. The automobile was originally code-named the Oyster, but it was quickly renamed the Razor Blade.
S. C. H. Davis drove the car in an effort to break the one-hour light car record. The car lapped at 103″104 mph at Brooklands, but the front offside tyre fell off, and when a replacement tyre was installed, the same wheel shed its rubber many more times at speeds greater than 100 mph (160 km/h), forcing the record attempt to be called off.
During the 1950s, the Razor Blade was often raced before being sold to the Harrah Motor Museum in the United States, which later became the National Automobile Museum. It was brought back to the UK in the 1980s by the current owner, who restored it, and it is currently used in VSCC and other classic automobile competitions.
After the Razor Blade won the BARC meeting at Brooklands, the Light Car and Cyclecar magazine published the following poetry under the heading LIGHT CAR-ICATURES on September 7, 1923: