Lagonda 3-litre Coupe

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Introduced in 1953 to rave reviews from the press, the new 3-litre Lagonda used an enlarged version of WO Bentley's 2.6-litre twin overhead-cam straight-six used in its predecessor, the 2.6-litre saloon; and of course the gorgeous Aston-Martin DB2.

The second Lagonda to be offered in the David Brown era, it was sold as a four-door saloon, a four-seat two-door coupe and a drophead, the bodies being produced in-house by coachbuilders Tickford, a subsidiary of David Brown Engineering.

Sold in limited numbers, just 270 were made in total; its hefty £2,993 price tag (around £90,000 in today’s money) put it well out of reach of the average man. For those lucky enough to afford one, they got a very special car indeed, the Duke of Edinburgh being a noted owner and enthusiast for the model.

Built around a complex cruciform chassis, it used independent suspension all round with coils up front and torsion-bars and swing-axles at the rear. The chassis incorporated in-built hydraulic jacks. The aluminium coachwork was very civilised inside, with loads of leather and wood, a heater and radio coming as standard equipment.

The 2,922cc 140bhp straight-six twin-cam engine delivered a top speed of 104mph, no mean figure in the early ‘50s for a luxury coupe, with particular note being made of its rapid acceleration in contemporary road tests.

This matching numbers example was originally registered WNU 318 and delivered to the Butterley Company Ltd in Ripley in August 1954. According to the works records which are on file, the car received its fair share of attention from the factory during its first year of use, but by July 1955 the records ceased. Bidders should be aware that this registration number is not currently recognised by the DVLA.

Many elements of the car have remained well preserved and as far as can be ascertained it is remarkably complete, although the vendor cannot find the bumpers and grilles or one of the side windows (flat glass) and a quarter-light.

This handsome suicide-door coupe offers a rare opportunity to acquire one of Britain’s post-war motoring icons as a major restoration project.