1934 Lagonda M45 OTS Tourer

• One of the fastest British sports cars of its era
• Rebuilt by marque specialists Alan Brown and Jack Buckley to an attractive two-seater tourer
• One of only 410 M45 Lagonda examples built
• The sportier version M45R Rapide, with a tuned M45 engine and a shorter chassis, achieved a Le Mans victory in 1935
• All documents were checked and the car was photographed personally by Auctomobile
• Other features: possibility of assisting with registration, transport, insurance, storage and Trusted Checkout payment
• Please note that this car will be available for viewing by prior appointment in Hradec Kralove, Czechia

Lagonda is a British luxury car brand established in 1906, which has been owned by Aston Martin since 1947.
"Lagonda cars have always upheld a reputation for effortless fast touring and the pride of ownership which fine detail work and distinguished coachbuilding can give. The 4½-Litre model retains these characteristics, but scores considerably over its forebears by its high power-to-weight ratio. The chassis is no bigger than the three litre car, and there is no suggestion of clumsiness, heavy steering or the other drawbacks which often accompany the large engined car." - Motor Sport, January 1934.
The 4½-Litre Lagonda was one of the most accomplished sports cars of the 1930s, as a succession of high-profile race wins, culminating in victory at Le Mans in 1935. In 1934 a team of three specially prepared short-chassis cars (effectively the soon-to-be-announced M45 Rapide) prepared by Lagonda performed creditably at the 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.
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 short run on one of the first of the 4½-Litre Lagonda models, with an open four-seater body, left a vivid impression not only of brilliant acceleration and sheer performance, but of a car delightfully silent and easy running in a way that can be achieved to the fullest extent only by a big-engined machine working well inside its limits," reported The Autocar in 1933. As the foregoing contemporary quote clearly demonstrates, these exceptionally handsome big-engined Lagondas created a considerable impression when new.

Lagonda Club Registrer shows that this M45 was originally a pillar-less saloon. Its first owner known by the Club was fellow committee member André Kenny (1947-1960s), who had enjoyed a distinguished career during WW2 in Reconnaissance and post-war in the Foreign Office. 'BGO 681' was found as a bare chassis in November 1978 by marque specialist Alan Brown of Lancashire, and was restored with a T7 replica body by Jack Buckley. Ownership then passed to the motoring artist Alan Fearnley, who had the car's coachwork modified into the present and very attractive two-seat tourer design. The Lagonda has seen little use since its purchase by the enthusiast vendor a few years ago. Offered with a V5C document.

Parameters

Model

Notes