1963 Aston Martin Lagonda Rapide
Comprehensively restored by Aston Martin Works in the 1980s

Registration No: KGJ 364A
Chassis No: LR/127/R
MOT: Exempt

• One of only 55 Rapides made
• Comprehensively restored by Aston Martin Works during 1987 and 1988, with photographic documentation
• Resprayed in the attractive shade of Old English Pewter over a re-trimmed Tan leather Connolly interior
• Maintained to a high standard with around £20,000 of expenditure since the vendor's acquisition in 2022

SALE ROOM NOTICE: The estimate has been lowered on this lot as the vendor has chosen to lower his reserve

By the late 1940s, two of the greatest names in pre-war performance motoring, Aston Martin and Lagonda, were struggling financially. On the other hand, a gear-maker who had recently branched into tractor production was enjoying mounting profits. So it went that David Brown bought the struggling marques in 1947, uniting them as companions, with Aston Martin offering performance cars with a measure of luxury, and Lagonda making luxury cars with a measure of performance. Although the Lagonda name was dropped after 1958, it would go on to be revived every time a saloon car was planned based on Aston Martin mechanicals. The first of these was the Lagonda Rapide, produced from 1961 to January, 1964, which used DB4 underpinnings, but with the 3,995cc version of the twin-cam straight-six which would later power the DB5. As would be expected, it had a sophisticated specification, including dual-circuit, servo-assisted four-wheel disc brakes and a Borg-Warner three-speed automatic transmission. The styling by Touring of Milan was the last word in Italianate elegance and, like the DB4, it employed the carrozzeria’s famous Superleggera tubular construction method. Brisk, beautiful and exclusive – just 55 were built – the Rapide was the epitome of the early 1960s ‘gentleman’s express’.

Chassis LR/127/R was originally registered ‘9339 UK’ and finished in Dubonnet paint with an interior trimmed in Connolly VM.3234 Fawn hide, with equipment including a Motorola 808 radio. Delivered through the agent C. Williams on March 15th, 1963, to J. Hudson & Co. (Whistles) Ltd. of Barr Street, Hockley, Birmingham, it appears to have led an interesting early life. Founded in 1870, Joseph Hudson’s business became a major manufacturer of all types of whistles, including for the police, armed forces, and sporting events such as the Olympics. The Lagonda would have been for Joseph’s grandson Leon Clifford Hudson, who became Managing Director in 1949. Seemingly a keen touring motorist, it was ordered with non-standard equipment including a speaker on the driver’s side, a map pocket on the passenger’s side, and an aneroid barometer and altimeter on the glovebox lid. He also specified the deletion of the footrests. To make touring even more enjoyable, in 1964 he returned the Lagonda to Aston Martin so it could be fitted with a plug for an electric kettle!

It appears it was still the 1960s when the Rapide was passed to its next owner, one Mrs. Meynell of Hoar Cross, Burton-on-Trent. Her family had a long association with Hoar Cross, traceable to the purchase of the manor in 1793 by “Father of Fox-Hunting” Hugo Meynell. A replacement engine was fitted in 1966, as documented in the Aston Martin service records which extend to September, 1969, when the Rapide had covered 59,273 miles. In April, 1981, ownership passed to Clive Noble, and in 1987 it was bought by Didier Primat (1944-2008), a French billionaire residing in Geneva. The grandson of Marcel Schlumberger, co-founder of the Schlumberger oilfield services company, he became a director in 1988.

Primat immediately presented the Lagonda to the Aston Martin Ltd. Service Department for extensive restoration, which included a cylinder head overhaul with new valves, guides and springs, a gearbox overhaul with the torque converter renewed, and further refurbishment of the brakes and suspension. The interior was refurbished with the woodwork reveneered and the headlining and upholstery renewed. Primat opted for Tan Connolly VM.846 hide, with the carpets in Fawn with Tan leather edges. The body was stripped to the bare metal, restored and repainted in the attractive Old English Pewter it still wears. All the work was photographically documented.

LR/127/R remained with Primat until March, 1999, when it was consigned into the Christie’s Geneva sale and bought by marque specialist R. S. Williams on behalf of an enthusiastic Belgian collector. It remained in the collection until 2022, and upon being sold the owner said: “The car was only used to drive handicapped children for Rotary and Lions to a Flemish castle and to the seaside twice a year. It was not used more because I loved it so much and thought it was my nicest car so there should be no accident.”

The Rapide was recommissioned in 2021 by Vantage Engineering and made England home again with its new owner. Sadly, the years abroad resulted in it losing its original registration, hence it acquired the age-related ‘KGJ 364A’. In 2023, it was taken to marque specialist Edition 13 Ltd. to be brought up to an even higher standard, receiving £15,000 worth of work. This included the front suspension being stripped, sandblasted, powder-coated and reassembled with all-new bushings and bearings, a general service, new steering rack gaiters, welding repairs to both rear wheel arches, window motor refurbishment, the renewal of the brake master cylinder seals and rewiring of the radio. Consequently, LR/127/R now appears as a very fine example of Lagonda’s swansong, and is all the more covetable for seemingly having had no significant use since 1987. It is offered for sale with the current V5C, copies of the original build and service sheets, some MOTs, numerous invoices, the photographic Aston Martin restoration profile, and copies of period advertising, sales and magazine literature, plus a copy of the original maintenance instructions.

PLEASE NOTE: The photographed private registration number '600 BT' will be removed from the vehicle and is not included in the sale

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