Tuesday 12th August
For today's Classic of the Day we take a visit to Classicmobilia based in Milton Keynes.
LAGONDA RAPIDE
The Lagonda Rapide was David Browns dream
to produce a four-door sports saloon. Based on the Aston Martin DB4 chassis,
lengthened by 16 inches, body design by Touring with a Supperlegga aluminum
body shell and publishing a top speed of 125 mph, with a 0 to 60 in the 9 sec
bracket, from its revised 4.0 liter alloy twin cam engine.
A total of 55 Lagonda Rapides were built:
two in 1961, nine in 1962, 40 in 1963 and four in 1964. Eight were originally
fitted with a manual gearbox and five left hand drive cars were built for USA,
France, Switzerland and South Africa.
Running on DB4 steering and suspension with
a de Dion rear end, it demanded the best that Aston Martin could produce.
It was estimated that one Rapide was built
at the expense of three Aston Martin’s, the car was purchase as a special order
with a selling price of £5251, which was three times as much as an E type.
One Rapide, chassis number 18, was even
converted to a track racer by Ian Mason and Richard Williams, competing in hill
climbs and sprint outings; it even won the 2-liter class at the 1964 Brighton
Speed Trials.
Today there are said to be only 47 Lagonda
Rapides on the road, with cars being used as donor cars for DB4 Zagato and even
a shooting brake.
One Rapide, chassis number 18, was even
converted to a track racer by Ian Mason and Richard Williams, competing in hill
climbs and sprint outings; it even won the 2-liter class at the 1964 Brighton
Speed Trials.
Today there are said to be only 47 Lagonda
Rapides on the road, with cars being used as donor cars for DB4 Zagato and even
a shooting brake.
This Lagonda Rapide, Chassis number LR/133/R
was supplied new by Francis Motors to Mr. R Kearsley of Northants on 2nd
October 1964. The original body colour was Caribbean Pearl with white Gold
interior leather trim, which it still has today.
With full Aston Martin Newport Pagnell
history right up until late 1970 with
31,743 miles the car was sold on to Mr R M Willan of Cheshire.
The car was sold on to Mr. J.T Hinkle of
Fort Worth, Taxes and shipped to the States. It was then sold on to Mr. Jim
Forester in September 1984, also in Taxes, where Import Service and
Restorations of Georgia looked it after the car.
Mr. M Arkell, repatriated the car back to the UK
in September 1989 with only 43,443 mikes on the clock, covering just over 5,000
miles while in the States.
The car has a large file of invoices from
well know repairs and was treated to a bare metal repaint in 1996 by Solent
Vintage Engineering to the current Rolls Royce Royal Blue. From 1989 to when it was returned to the UK
up until 2005, when the current owner purchased it, the car had only covered
48,300 miles.
The
car was then shipped to Hamburg where it was looked after by Aston Services
Hamburg. The car has been subject to
major refurbishment, which has been very well documented and with a huge amount
of detailed photographs of the work carried out.
Today with only 50,000 miles and in fine
fettle, with a good documented history, it would make a fine collectors
investment for the future and a pleasurable drive
