1952 LAGONDA 3.0 DROP HEAD COUPE- CAR BARN Telephone - 01207 606 120 VIEWING BY APPOINTMENT

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1952 LAGONDA 3.0 DROP HEAD COUPE

Looking absolutely splendid in the superb colour scheme of Green with contrasting Cream 
interior and soft top, this beautiful old Lagonda is a real head-turner.

The DHC of the 1950’s is a rare animal and it is believed that this 1951 Lagonda has been

 up-rated from the standard 2.6 Litre engine of that year to match the 3.0 specification 

introduced in 1953. The Lagonda 3.0 Litre was a 140 bhp version of the twin overhead camshaft Lagonda Straight-6 engine designed by Walter Owen Bentley.

The DHC was bodied by Tickford and featured an independent suspension set-up using coil springs at the front and torsion bars at the rear. At introduction it was believed to be the only all-independently sprung British car. 

With real presence and a stately drive, this is British classic motoring at it’s most elegant.

ORIGINAL SOURCE: http://www.carbarn.co.uk/car-lagonda-3-0l-dhc--details-1519.html

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IDRIS THE SQUIRREL

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KEEPING IT CLASSIC

2010-2017

LAGONDA M45 RAPIDE - Stanley Mann Racing Ltd

FROM THE SHOWROOM OF

 

STANLEY MANN RACING LTD

The Fruit Farm, Common Lane, Radlett, Herts, WD7 8PW

Telephone: 01923 52505  Fax: 01923 853496

e-mail: stanley@stanleymann.com

Opening Hours: 8:30am to 6:30pm Mon - Fri

Weekends By Appointment

 

LAGONDA  M45 RAPIDE

Registration Number: BYT 111    Chassis Number: Z11399    Engine Number: 9567
Price: £250000

" I’ve got a four and a half litre Lagonda at the moment and she’s pretty good on speed" Ralph Richardson interviewed in 1936 The Lagonda M45 Rapide with the superb straight six Meadows 4.5 Litre engine was one of the most stylish tourers of the late 1930s. We were delighted to buy this. Still sporting her original T9 body in excellent order and fresh from long term ownership this M45 Rapide has its original build details on file, showing it leaving the factory in July 1935 and being purchased by its second owner, a motoring enthusiast and lover of all wheeled and winged objects in 1936. This was a young chap named Ralph Richardson, better known as the actor Sir Ralph Richardson. He enjoyed the car so much it was driven by his friend Sir Laurence Olivier in a film in which they both starred with screen siren Merle Oberon called "The Divorce Of Lady X". That film, made in the new "glorious technicolour" and now viewable by the wonders of YouTube, shows this Lagonda in its original silver livery, painted thus to commemorate the silver jubilee of King George Vth.

LAGONDA RAPIDE - CLASSICMOBILIA

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 2^nd 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

 Copy rights Classicmobilia 2014Contact: keith@classicmobilia.com

CLASSICMOBILIA

1938 LAGONDA V12 SHORT CHASSIS RAPIDE

Today's Classic of the day is advertised at

 

1938 Lagonda V12 Short Chassis Rapide

  

Without doubt one of the most refined and graceful pre-war cars made, the V12 Rapide was the last true masterpiece for both Lagonda and WO Bentley. In 1935, Lagonda's new chairman Alan Good declared his ambition to produce the world's most desirable cars with the introduction of the V12 engine, giving his engineering and design team just 2 years to achieve production. With WO Bentley on board as technical director, he assembled a highly talented team from his days at Bentley and Rolls-Royce to accomplish this. Bentley achieved Good's aims with his 4480 cc V12 producing 180 bhp at 5500 rpm and with enough torque to take any of the V12 models from 7 mph to well over 100 mph in top gear. Reports of the de Ville press demonstrator achieving 109 mph caused a MP to call for a ban on the sale of cars capable of achieving the magic ton.

Aside from the engine, the V12 was the first car completely designed under the direction of WO since he left Bentley with a new chassis incorporating independent front suspension and hydraulic brakes amongst numerous other innovative design features, all resulting in a car remarked upon for having fantastic ride and handling characteristics. WO always made his racing intentions clear from the beginning of his technical directorship so it was not surprising when a Lagonda V12 scored a podium finish at the 1939 Le Mans 24 hours.

Introduced in 1938, the V12 Rapide was the jewel in Lagonda's crown. Built on a 10' 4" short chassis with Lagonda's master designer Frank Feeley (of DB3S fame) penning the voluptuous lines of the bodywork, the result was a true world beater; even today few cars can emulate the combination of beauty, luxury and performance of a V12 Rapide. Marketed at a price of £1600 (nearly 3 times the average house price in Britain), 14 V12 Rapides were produced and all of these are known to exist today and nearly all of them are in very secure ownership.

Chassis 14071 was completed on 9th November 1938 and guaranteed on 18th February 1939. It was ordered through the Grosvenor Garage by Mr E. Boydell of Hale, Cheshire, who kept the Rapide until 1950. Clearly a man of superb taste, Boydell ordered his V12 in the sumptuous specification of black exterior with a grey hood, disc alloy wheels and a red leather interior finished with a black ebonised wood dash and polished pewter inlays. Various rare features were ordered for the car including a Phillips radio and a non-folding screen for a much cleaner look.

According to Lagonda service records, 14071 had completed 27425 miles by the end of 1950. After that date, the car was known to the Lagonda Club and had a string of British owners including Lagonda collector Herb Schofield during the 1970s. In 1998 it was exported to the USA by Albert Vorthius of Maryland who kept it for 15 years before entering the Craig Davies collection of Pebble Beach.

Today 14071 is presented in fine cosmetic and mechanical condition. Currently in two tone red with tan interior, 14071 is ready to be enjoyed on the road or as a highly rewarding restoration project back to its stunning original specification. 14071 is nicely original apart from an engine transplant to a Sanction 2 engine (V12/204) that the Lagonda service department completed in November 1946 (a very common procedure as the Sanction 1 engines suffered reliability issues). All major mechanical parts are correct with the matching number timing case and original twin SU carb setup (WO's favourite) still on the car.

A very rare opportunity to acquire the finest gentleman's express of the pre-war era.

 For further information visit the Peter Bradfield Website at:

http://www.bradfieldcars.com/