Background
One of the most revered names in automotive history, Lagonda is pungently redolent of all things archaically British – cucumber sandwiches, duffle coats, tea strainers, buck-toothed vicars, fierce aunts scented with tweed, feathers and smelling salts, etc.
The true origins of the firm, however, are rather different.
The founder was Wilbur Gunn, an American opera singer who had the sense to realise that his real talents lay elsewhere. In 1906 he left the stage and, with help, produced and marketed a very competent motorcycle under the Lagonda brand, named after a creek in his native Ohio but produced from a factory in Staines, Middlesex.
Moving swiftly into car production, Lagonda’s reputation as a quality brand was cemented by winning the Moscow to St Petersburg trial of 1910 with a 20hp six-cylinder Torpedo, a feat which impressed Tsar Nicholas II and opened the door to a lucrative Russian market until war broke out in 1914.
Having established its reputation by winning the Moscow - St Petersburg Reliability Trial of 1910 with a 30hp six, the Staines-based firm concentrated mainly on the production of light cars before focussing its attention on sporting and luxury models in the mid-1920s.
In the pursuit of sharpening this new focus they appointed Arthur Thomas from Lea-Francis, who designed a new engine with overhead valves operated by short pushrods from two camshafts located high up in the engine block.
The 14/60 model, as it was known, sported powerful Rubery four-wheel brakes and was particularly attractive and lively, especially as by 1930 (by which time it was known as the ‘2-Litre’) it could be had with a Cozette supercharger.
In 1928 the chassis was stretched and a 2.4-litre six-cylinder engine with conventional pushrods was introduced in the 16/55. This was all a bit heavy and performance was brought back up to specification when the capacity was increased to 2,931cc as the ‘3-Litre’.
Introduced at the 1933 Olympia Show and based on the preceding ZM 3-Litre model, the M45 deployed Meadows' 4½-litre, twin-plug six to good effect, saloons being capable of reaching 90mph and tourers the 'ton' under favourable conditions.
A team of three specially prepared short-chassis cars (effectively the soon-to-be-announced M45 Rapide) prepared by Lagonda main agents Fox & Nicholls performed creditably at the 1934 RAC Tourist Trophy at Ards, and the following year one of these TT cars driven by John Hindmarsh and Luis Fontes won the Le Mans 24-Hour endurance classic outright.
Under W O Bentley's technical direction the big Lagonda became more refined: the M45's successor - the LG45 - gaining synchromesh gears, flexible engine mounts and centralised chassis lubrication among many other improvements. Endowed with such an impeccable pedigree, the 4½-Litre Lagonda quickly established itself as a favourite among the wealthy sporting motorists of its day.
One of only 278 LG45s produced during 1936/37, this example was reportedly discovered in 'barn find' condition – complete apart from two missing quarter-lights – in a South Wales barn in the early 1980s. Restored by 1991, it then benefited from an interior re-trim in Bridge of Weir leather and was displayed at various shows in the Bristol area over the years.
It is understood that the car received a replacement engine block during this restoration. The car had covered only some 300 miles post-rebuild when it was purchased by the penultimate owner at a Bonhams' auction in 2010 and then exported to his overseas collection of static display vehicles. It was then bought by the vendor, who is well-known to us, at another Bonhams auction in April 2022.
This rare example of one of the most coveted of post-Vintage thoroughbreds is in very decent overall condition, aside from a few cosmetic issues here and there, and has benefitted from significant recent expenditure on optimising its mechanical condition.
