1l7CcRC

The V12’s announcement demonstrated that the revitalisedcompany was very much back in business, an impression Lagonda’sdecision to enter the 1939 Le Mans 24-Hour Race can only haveenhanced. The marque already possessed a creditable Le Mansrecord, a short-chassis 4½-Litre driven by John Hindmarsh andLuis Fontes having won the endurance classic outright in 1935.In October 1938 a Lagonda V12 saloon driven by Earl Howe hadcovered 101.5 miles at Brooklands in a single hour, despite havingto stop to change a burst tyre, and this together with other highspeedtests, during which the car had shown complete reliability,indicated that it would be a highly suitable candidate for revivingBritish prestige at Le Mans.Accordingly, it was decided to enter a two-car team in 1939 withthe aim of securing valuable data, and then to mount a full-strengthchallenge the following year. In the race the two streamlined twoseaterLagondas fared better than expected, Messrs Brackenburyand Dobson finishing in third place with Lords Selsdon and Waleranfourth. Had a less conservative race strategy been employed, theneither might have won. According to information kindly supplied bythe Lagonda Club Archivist, Arnold Davey, factory-bodied chassisnumber ‘14059’ was delivered in January 1939 through dealersGaffikin Wilkinson of Hanover Square, London to an A F Lingard ofCombend Manor, Elkstone, Cheltenham.The car was finished in Cerric Grey with maroon trim and grey hood,and came equipped with Ace wheel discs, tonneau cover, gaitersprings to the rear, special hub nuts and a rear bumper, the latterbeing classed as an extra! It was next owned by one B Collins ofSidbury Hall, Bridgenoth, Shropshire. Laid up during WW2, the cardid not emerge from hibernation until 1951 when it was serviced bymarque specialists Davis Motors having covered only 31,000 miles.The current vendor purchased the Lagonda at the AlexandraPalace auction in 1979, by which time it had been fitted with theengine out of ‘16037’ a V12 saloon de ville. After a few years onmuseum display in Blackpool, the car was driven to the LakelandMotor Museum at Holker Hall. Some time later an attempt tostart it resulted in an engine failure and in 1996 the Lagonda wastaken back to the owner’s home in Norway. An engine rebuild wassubsequently carried out in Oslo by a friend of the late vendor, anaircraft mechanic specialising in Hercules engines, who discoveredthat the cause of the failure had been a broken valve. Described asin generally good condition, the engine being very good, this rareLagonda V12 drophead is offered with a history file containing manyLagonda Club magazines and newsletters, original Autocar roadtest reports, a Lagonda Club Illustrated Spares Catalogue and aLagonda 12 Cylinder Instruction Book.Should the vehicle remain in the EU, local import taxes of 5% will beapplied to the hammer price.£180,000 - 240,000€220,000 - 300,000Motor Cars | 255