1937 Lagonda LG45 Rapide Tourer
Only 25 examples left the Staines factory, making this four-seat open tourer one of Britain’s rarest prewar sports cars. Dick Watney, a Lagonda director and former racing driver, conceived the Rapide when he felt the standard LG45 had become too refined.
He commissioned Frank Feeley (who later designed the Aston Martin DB3S) to create flamboyant coachwork featuring cycle-type fenders, cutaway doors, and external chrome exhausts. W.O. Bentley supervised technical development after joining Lagonda from Rolls-Royce.
Road tests documented a top speed of around 108 mph with acceleration from rest to 60 mph in approximately 13 seconds. The 272 cubic inch (4.5-liter) Meadows straight-six produced approximately 133 horsepower at 3,400 rpm through its “Sanction 3” specification, which included a redesigned cylinder head, twin SU carburetors, and a compression ratio of 7:1 (or 7.5:1 with owner-prepared high-octane fuel).
Announced in September 1936 at £1,250 (the price of three London terraced houses), the Rapide incorporated engineering developments derived from Lagonda’s 1935 Le Mans-winning M45R. The four-speed gearbox featured synchromesh on second, third, and top gears.
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