On 19 October 2024, Aston Martin and racing enthusiasts gathered at St James Church, Burton Lazars, for a service of remembrance and celebration for Louis Zborowski.
It’s a name you might recognise if you’re familiar with Aston Martin’s early history, and if not, what a character you are about to discover!
Born in 1895, Louis was an accomplished mechanic and driver for whom motor cars were an enduring passion. He built and raced his own cars, invested in Aston-Martins, as they were known at the time, and created the inspiration for a well-known flying car.
Louis’ parents, Elliot Zborowski, a keen racing driver, and Margaret Astor Carey, an American heiress, sadly both died during his childhood. Aged eight, Louis lost his father in a motor race in France and eight years later, aged 16, he lost his mother. Louis inherited the combined fortunes of the Zborowski and Astor families as well as a passion for motor cars and all things mechanical, sparked by his father.
There was something else of his father’s that Louis adopted, and that was the title of Count. It is believed that Elliot assumed the title when he moved to Europe but there is no historical evidence to confirm that he had a legitimate claim to it.
After Louis created his first Chitty Bang Bang, complete with 300hp Maybach engine, it made its debut at Brooklands in 1920. He went on to build three more Chitty Bang Bangs which he both raced and toured through Europe. During those early years at Brooklands amongst the crowds was a young Ian Fleming, the creator of James Bond, who was so inspired by Louis and his cars that he wrote a children’s book and added in the extra ‘Chitty’.
But Louis didn’t stop at cars, his passion for engineering extended to boats and trains too. He upgraded the engine on his motor launch, a type of boat, from a 40hp marine engine to a 160hp Mercedes aero power unit, and in his garden at Higham Park, his home in Kent, he created a one third scale model of the Flying Scotsman. The model weighed nine tonnes, was 25 feet long and was capable of reaching speeds of 50mph! He also played a part in starting what would become the Romney, Hythe and Dymchurch Railway.
It is no surprise that the new Aston-Martin marque created by Bamford & Martin Ltd had caught Louis’ eye, and by the early 1920s he was competing in an Aston-Martin. In 1922, Louis invested in the company. His backing enabled them to create two cars for the 1922 Grand Prix, one of which he raced himself.
On 19 October 1924, while racing at the Italian Grand Prix, Louis’s Mercedes careered off the track, fatally injuring him. He was 28 years old. Louis was buried alongside his family at St James Church.
100 years to the day there was an amazing turn out to remember Louis, hear talks about him and see TT1 and TT2, the two cars created for the 1922 Grand Prix.
Some AMHT information panels about Louis have been installed in the church for future visitors who might want to find out some more about this enigmatic man.
