1936 Lagonda LG45 4½-Litre 'Rapide-Style' Sports Tourer

Registration No: DLM 310
Chassis No: 12147
MOT: Exempt

• Subject to a painstaking restoration and remodelled to 'Rapide' specification over 15 years
• 1 of just 93 surviving LG45 cars known to the Lagonda Club
• Originally an SB3 saloon model in the ownership of the Ling family for over 50 years
• Previously fitted with a Gardner diesel engine, but now reunited with a correct 4½-Litre Meadows engine
• Upgraded with a four-speed synchromesh Alvis centre-change gearbox, more modern radiator core and alternator

Notable as the first Lagonda design to be overseen by legendary engineer—and recently appointed technical director of LG Motors (Staines) Ltd—W.O. Bentley, the LG45 was introduced in late September, 1935. Although, sharing the same 10ft. 9in. wheelbase as its M45 Rapide and M45A predecessors, the newcomer boasted significantly reduced levels of noise, vibration and harshness. A massive ladder-frame channel-section affair, its chassis featured repositioned crossmembers (to liberate more rear legroom), softer semi-elliptic road springs, adjustable hydraulic shock absorbers, two prefabricated bulkheads and a harmonic stabilising front bumper. Other refinements included a Smiths 'Jackall' system (the controls of which were normally housed in a side-mounted 'dummy' spare wheel cover), one-shot Tecalemit lubrication and Girling four-wheel drum brakes. Powered by a modified version of the redoubtable 4,453cc Meadows OHV straight-six engine (which had earned Lagonda victory in that year's Le Mans 24 Hours), the LG45 further benefited from a part synchromesh four-speed manual gearbox and strong Borg and Beck clutch. Initially available in saloon, tourer, drophead coupé or bare chassis guises, the model was among the fastest road cars of its day (with most closed variants being capable of over 90mph and some open ones reputedly topping 100mph). Despite a fantastic 1936 season that saw four Fox & Nicholl-prepared works racers distinguish themselves in the French Grand Prix (1st in class), Belgian Grand Prix (1st in class), Ards Tourist Trophy (2nd in class) and B.R.D.C. 500 Mile Race (3rd overall), the LG45 was phased out of production the following year after some 278 had been made (though only 93 or so are thought to have survived to this day).

As a high-performance luxury touring car, the Lagonda LG45 was one of the best of its class, but refinement came somewhat at the expense of the visceral sports-car feel that had been so much part of the appeal of earlier Lagondas. To that end, Dick Watney, a former racing driver who became a director of Lagonda, conceived the Rapide model. He gave a brief to house stylist Frank Feeley to create a four-seater touring body in the open sports-car tradition, while the enhanced Sanction 3 engine, which featured a redesigned cylinder head and an improved induction system, was dropped into the LG45 chassis. The standard engine’s 6.68:1 compression ratio was increased to 7:1, with the option of 7.5:1 for high-octane fuel users only. With Feeley’s masterful styling—the new body looked like a two-seater, though it provided ample space for four—the LG45 Rapide established itself as one of the greatest large sports cars of its generation.

We are delighted to offer one of the few surviving LG45s, which has been painstakingly recreated as a tribute to the Rapide by a well-known restorer and consummate pre-war enthusiast. Chassis 12147 started life with an SB3 saloon body, and spent over fifty years in the ownership of the Ling family, but it eventually fell out of use and into a derelict condition. When our vendor rescued it, the body had become so rotten that the doors fell off while it was being trailered home. Furthermore, the original engine had long ago suffered frost expansion and cracked, and had been replaced by a Gardner diesel engine. That was, at least, ideally suited to the car during the portion of its life it apparently spent operating as a taxi…

With the original coachwork sadly beyond economical repair, the restoration progressed only once the owner found a Rapide-style ash body frame for sale at the Beaulieu Autojumble in the early 2000s. Once that was acquired, the chassis was sent to David Ayre to be properly aligned and fitted with the correct bracketry for the new body, which in its turn was panelled by Les and Ross Keeling.

An appropriate 4½-litre Meadows engine was sourced from Richard Reay Smith. It had been prepared by Bishopgray, and had already seen some action in Smith’s LG45 racer. It was built very much to a road-racing specification, with twin distributors and more modern SU HD8 carburettors which are well-known for their use on post-war Jaguars. With high-performance cams, steel rods and a steel crank also fitted, the engine was crack-tested, balanced, and shown to produce just shy of 140bhp when tested on a dyno. For the gearbox, a fully-synchromesh Alvis unit was sourced and overhauled, making for a car that is delight to drive even in modern traffic. Other mechanical work included the complete overhauls of the back axle, brakes and suspension. This work included relining and rebushing the brakes, and retempering the springs. Impressively, the Rapide-only four-bolt Girling-Luvax hydraulic front shock absorbers were sourced and fitted.

While mechanically the Lagonda reflects the owner’s individual requirements, enormous pains were taken to ensure that the body is an accurate copy of the original Rapide style. Consequently, such details as are often overlooked or inauthentically copied are present and correct. These include the original type of glovebox lock and a dashboard supplied by the Northern Lagonda Factory with all the correct instruments and mixture control. The 1936-only seats from the original saloon body were salvaged, but have been modified to Rapide specification; the owner removed the covers, narrowed them by two inches, and then had the interior completely retrimmed. The fittings for the side screens and wind deflectors, as well as the fold-flat windscreen, are likewise correct.

Once the wheels had been refurbished and set rolling on new Blockley tyres, the car was painted and assembled by the vendor’s team of mechanics, and just completed its road-testing earlier this year. This wonderfully faithful Rapide tribute is supplied with historic photographs of the car as a saloon, assorted invoices for parts and work, and dyno read-outs, and is only being offered for sale as the vendor has many other projects still to complete.

For more information, please contact:
Lucas Gomersall
lucas.gomersall@handh.co.uk
07484 082430