Lagonda Rapier Supercharged Tourer

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Established in 1906, Lagonda are best known for their range of large sports and touring cars, but in the early 1930s they decided to revisit the light car market.

In 1932 they approached renowned engineer, Tim Ashcroft, with a brief to produce ‘Britain’s finest 1100cc engine’ while Charles King was appointed to look after the chassis design. Ashcroft was known to be something of an eccentric genius, a contemporary account describing him as: “A tall, distinguished-looking man, wearing a monocle, and with the disturbing habit of stopping any conversation he was not interested in by pulling the front of his trousers forward and letting his monocle drop down into the void.”

The engine he came up with was a real gem and featured twin overhead camshafts (virtually unheard of in a road car at the time) and a massive fully-balanced crankshaft running on three main bearings of 2-inch diameter – the same as those in Lagonda’s 4.5-litre engine. The ingenious valve gear followed race car principles, opposed at 90deg in the cross-flow head and using curved finger followers to give plenty of low down torque without compromising high speed power (an early form of variable valve timing).

Four beautifully engineered hemispherical combustion chambers with a 7.5:1 compression ratio and fed by twin SU carbs completed the package, delivering 50bhp and driving through an ENV pre-selector gearbox. Georgano describes it as “an unburstable engine with a potential of 6,000rpm” making it the highest revving British road car engine of its day.

King’s chassis had an 8ft 4in wheelbase and was bolted together to avoid residual stresses caused by welding. Immensely stiff and strong, it was worthy of at least a 3-litre car and was also one of the first to be fitted with Girling brakes, whose 25ft stopping distance at 30mph was a remarkable figure for the time.

The chassis price was fixed at £270 and customers could choose from a range of coachbuilt bodies which added another £100 to the cost: John Charles of London offering a drophead coupe, Abbott of Farnham a saloon and a tourer while other coachbuilders catered for more bespoke requests. Around 80% of customers opted for Abbott bodies, half choosing saloons and half open tourers, as here.

Making its showroom debut in early 1934, the Rapier light sporting car received a rapturous welcome from press and public alike. Praised for its excellent handling, braking and performance, a waiting list was quick to form.

“So lively is the engine that it gains revs almost as though supercharged, but it does not become fussy, 5,500rpm being a rev counter reading which can be frequently attained”, reported Autocar. “It feels somehow like a larger car. There is nothing in the least flimsy about it and the way in which it sits on the road is quite exceptional”, they said, going on to record a top speed of 77.6mph and a 0-50mph time of 13 seconds (although Motor squeezed 80.3mph out of their test car). To prove the Lagonda’s sporting credentials, Edward Southwell Russell, 26th Baron de Clifford, came home 16th in his Rapier at Le Mans in 1934.

Unfortunately Lagonda soon ran into financial difficulties (caused largely by its demanding production requirements and over-complex model range) and in April 1935 the receivers were called in. By August a buyer had been found, the solicitor and corporate wheeler-dealer Alan Good, but at 6ft 5in tall and weighing 20-stone, he instinctively responded to larger cars and decreed that Rapier production should halt after about 350 had been made, preferring to concentrate his resources on the new 4.5-litre LG45 and V12 models instead.

However the story didn’t end there as the manufacturing rights were sold to Tim Ashcroft and his partners who set up Rapier Cars Ltd in Hammersmith, where a further 46 Rapiers were completed before production ceased for good in March 1938. This included six supercharged versions, priced at between £435 and £475, which employed a Centric blower that raised the top speed to 90mph and dropped the 0-50mph time to 9 seconds.

This particular Rapier was built by Lagonda in 1934 and is one of about 103 Abbott-bodied four-seat tourers produced. Not much is known of the early history of the car although a letter from Rapier Cars Ltd dated September 1937 shows that it was in the possession of a JP Tremlett of Abingdon at that point, while an old buff log book shows that by 1958 it was owned by a Robert Glynne of Gerrards Cross, then by Evan Davies of London from 1959 to 1971, and then by Duncan Wood of Bristol from whom the vendor acquired it in 1973.

A medical man, he brought the car back to his home in Belfast but was posted to West Africa shortly afterwards, so the Rapier was loaned to the Ulster Transport Museum for safekeeping where it was to remain until the early 1980s. On his return from the Tropics, the vendor used the car only sparingly before entrusting it to Kingham Restorations of Swanley, Kent, for a full restoration in 1997 which was to take the best part of three years to complete.

The extent of the work carried out is too detailed to list in full here but is amply documented by many bills and photographs in the large history file which accompanies the vehicle. During the restoration the decision was taken to fit the car with a Shorrock supercharger (like the six Rapier Cars produced versions) with obvious benefits for performance, as outlined above.

Since the restoration was completed the car has covered less than 1,000 miles and has been kept in a heated, dehumidified garage along with a number of other classics that the vendor is also fortunate enough to own. Remaining in very good condition throughout, it comes with the aforementioned history file, much technical literature relating to the model, a copy of an original workshop manual, a buff log book from 1958 and a modern V5C. A set of weather gear is also included (hood, hood bag and tonneau cover), plus sundry spares including all the items needed to return it to unblown form if desired.

Only reluctantly for sale due to an imminent house move and consequent loss of storage, this delightful, well-restored sports tourer now only needs another caring custodian who can give it the more regular exercise that it deserves. An exceptionally rare car from one of Britain’s most illustrious manufacturers, it is sure to create a huge amount of interest wherever it goes.