Team story
Origins
Bill Aston and Archie Butterworth chose an unusual route for Formula 2 in 1952. Aston prepared the chassis and Butterworth the engine, a two-litre, air-cooled flat-four. The NB41 and NB42 entered the World Championship because that season's European Grands Prix adopted precisely those Formula 2 regulations.
The Formula 1 journey
Robin Montgomerie-Charrington started at Spa in the NB42 but retired. Aston tackled the Nürburgring with the NB41, and his race ended early with an oil-pressure problem. The British attempt without a start and the failure to qualify in Italy completed an intermittent programme, without points-scoring results.
Historical timeline
Three chapters in the story of Aston Butterworth
Three episodes to revisit the people, cars and races that shaped this journey.
First appearance · Belgian Grand Prix
Robin Montgomerie-Charrington · Belgian Grand Prix 1952. The recorded outcome is DNF. This is the first recorded race start, or the first entry if the team never started a race.
Sporting landmark · Aston Butterworth
No classified race result is documented for this part of Aston Butterworth’s record. The entries and cars listed elsewhere on the page provide the available reference points; they should not be read as completed races.
Latest recorded appearance · German Grand Prix
Bill Aston · German Grand Prix 1952. The recorded outcome is DNF. This is the last race start attributed to this constructor in the archive, not necessarily the end of the organisation behind it.
A distinctive way of racing
The chassis followed the layout of contemporary Coopers, with the engine ahead of the driver. The absence of water cooling distinguished Butterworth's mechanical design, but fuel-system problems limited the project. The Aston surname belonged to Bill: these single-seaters had no connection with the Aston Martin car company.
What remains
The experiment did not develop into a sustained World Championship presence. The air-cooled engine remained an alternative to the mechanical arrangements adopted by the leading Formula 2 constructors. A surviving NB42 has continued to appear at historic meetings, displaying the flat-four layout that made this 1952 attempt recognisable.