1929' Lagonda Rapier

We are delighted to offer for sale this wonderful example of vintage motoring – a Lagonda 2 Litre High Chassis “Honeymoon Coupe”. The Lagonda marque is well known and respected by vintage enthusiasts having built its reputation with elegant, mechanically sound and beautiful cars; UU7571 epitomises all of these qualities.

Lagonda announced a new body design in January 1929 that was to be based on the Speed chassis, it was called the ‘Close-Coupled Saloon’ (CCS) and was a fixed-head coupe featuring a large external boot and folding seats in the rear. It was exceptionally well proportioned and soon attracted the title of the ‘Honeymoon Coupe’ with only two doors of decent size to allow easy access to the rear seats. This particular car also has the very unusual feature of double winding windows within each door.

This particular Lagonda 2 Litre was first registered with Lagonda Distributors London on the 12th of June 1929 before going to its first private owner Mr. Tom Dearbergh of Bury-st-Edmonds. Mr Dearbergh kept the car for 2 years before selling it to Mr Gower in November ’31 who in turn kept it another 2 years before the car passed to Mr Dietrichsen in ’33. 4 further owners are known until the car came into the possession of Mr Blake in January 1967. Mr Blake joined the Lagonda Owners Club and through the interesting letters between himself and the club it appears that the car was in need of some repair work that he undertook with the help of his brother. It would appear that the work required was a little more than the brothers realised and perhaps beyond their abilities as the restoration was still ongoing in 1977!

Roger Firth, a road transport consultant from Cheshire acquired this 2 Litre Lagonda in 1985 and there are numerous invoices on file during his ownership before it was added to the collection of former Lagonda Club Chairman John Batt in 2006. John used the car extensively for touring during his ownership undertaking many trips around the UK and particularly Scotland and he clearly kept the car in excellent condition.

The current custodian (another long time Lagonda owner) acquired the car in 2016 from the well-respected vintage dealer Robert Glover and he decided to give UU 7571 a full overhaul befitting of such a rare and hansom car. The well known Lagonda specialist David Ayres was entrusted with the work and his attention to detail and mechanical excellence are now evident throughout. A list of all work carried out would be a little exhaustive but the major points to mention are:

A full check over of the body
New wheels and tyres, wheel bearings and seal
Reinstated dash instruments correctly and all gauges working as they should
Completely rewired using period correct fabric covered wire
A correct and rare Zenith 36 HK carburettor was acquired and fitted (these are a rare model type and were also fitted to the Bugatti T35 so they have often been removed or sold)
The Autovac was repaired and the fuel system had new copper piping installed, a new water pump was acquired and installed and the radiator and heating system was overhauled.
The brake system was stripped checked through with new linings and then set up
It was hoped that the bottom end of engine could be left and used as it was, but a big end failure resulted in a complete engine strip and rebuild. After a full dismantle and inspection the cylinder liners were removed and the block repaired (small cracks) and it was bored. The crankshaft and assembly was balanced, conrods were crack-tested, new white metal bearings and big ends, new water jacket plates fitted, camshafts inspected and fitted with new bearings, not to mention the hundreds of other smaller jobs to get an engine in A1 condition. The lists of work carried out by David are extensive and detailed so it is clear that the engine and car overall really does want for nothing, the term ‘regardless of cost’ comes to mind – the car is stunning!

This Lagonda 2 Litre has now covered a little over 500 running in miles since the restoration work and she is every bit as lovely as you would expect with the engine bedding in nicely. Although the engine clearly needs further running, it is a delight to drive and getting better with every mile.

The exceptional condition of the car is also backed up by an excellent history file that includes its original buff logbook from 1929 and a further buff logbook from the ‘50s. A very rare original owners handbook with its original sleeve still remains with the car, as does a large amount of servicing and maintenance information. There are many invoices and documents covering the life of the car with all the recent restoration works explained in detail.

This beautiful vintage saloon is ready to be used and loved for many years to come, and is now offered for sale with immediate inspection available at The Classic Motor Hub.