1937 Lagonda LG45 Rapide Boattail Convertible Coupe

Lagonda, founded in 1906, was purchased by Alan Good in 1935, who also hired W.O. Bentley. Lagonda's in-house designer Frank Feely styled the LG 45 Rapide and W.O. Bentley turned it into a luxury sports car. This car is one of the 25 examples built between 1936 and 1937 and has an overhead valve 4.5-liter in-line 6-cylinder engine developing 119 horsepower and a top speed of 100 mph.

Having left his name behind but not his talent, W.O. Bentley would apply all his skills to make Lagonda into the automotive company it could be. Lagonda was already proving itself on the track and on the road, but Bentley's final touches would help to create a masterpiece.

Drawing the name from a Shawnee settlement located near Springfield, Ohio, Lagonda would be the brain-child of former opera singer and Scottish-American Wilbur Gunn. Becoming a British national just before the beginning of the 20th century, Gunn would start out building motorcycles but would soon turn his efforts to automobiles.

By the 1920s, Lagonda was becoming a more viable competitor to the Bentley and Rolls Royce automobiles that populated Britain at the time. However, the company still lacked that certain something or someone.

Financial troubles would see the company purchased by Alan Good, and he would persuade W.O. Bentley to leave Rolls Royce to come and help make Lagonda into the success it could always be.

It wouldn't take long before Bentley began tweaking and building what was to become its best engine yet—the V-12. The 4.5-liter engine would produce some 180bhp and could rev to an impressive 5,000rpm.

The more powerful engines would be mated to heavier bodies that were also positioned closer to the ground. This would actually increase the car's handling characteristics, though it did hinder performance a bit. Nonetheless, the combination would come together to help the company achieve victory at Le Mans with a shortened M45R chassis.

Perhaps the grandest of Lagonda's pre-World War II vehicles would have to be the pricey Rapide. Combined with Bentley's tweaked V-12 engine and the low-slung body, the car had aggressive looks, but also looked very elegant at the same time.

This particular example, chassis 12245/G10S, would be among those LG45 Rapide's greatly desired among the sporting elite of the day The fact that only 25 examples would ever be produced would make them greatly desired even today.

The third from the last to ever roll out of the factory, this car would be completed in September of 1937 and would be fitted with a right-hand change gearbox. Its first owner was believed to be a Mr. Jones living in Surrey.

Mr. Laurence Mitchell bought the car just before the outbreak of the Second World War and would retain ownership of the car right up through the mid-1950s. Then, in 1955, the car was sold by Mitchell. Josh Shirman, a vendor who opened his own garage in London following the war, would purchase the car from Mitchell and would take great care looking after the car, only using it on very special occasions and in good English weather.

The car would be retained by Shirman for more than three decades. In fact, the car would remain with him longer than that as it would be years before he actually registered the Rapide. More than three decades with Shirman and the car would never be more than walking distance away from the original Lagonda factory.

Shirman would go to great lengths to take care of the car, keeping it as original as possible In fact, as late as 1993, the car would be described by Lagonda experts as highly original and un-restored.

Shirman really started to let the Lagonda out in his latter-years. He and the car would make appearances at charity shows and charity events. The car would take part in charitable runs and would even appear in shows at Rickmansworth and The Princess Royal hospital.

Tested annually, the car remained in good working order with only light overhaul and modifications being undertaken. At the time of its sale in 2008, the car remained highly original.

Since coming to its new owner, 12245 has undergone some rather extensive restoration efforts, but maintaining originality has been a major focus. Now completed in a green finish, the chrome brightwork accents the color sharply and the Lagonda is now complete with show book and extensive images from the restoration process.

One of just 25 LG45 Rapides to be built, and show-ready, this 1937 Lagonda would be made available for sale through the 2015 Gooding & Company Pebble Beach auction. As a result of the restoration efforts and the sheer reputation of the brand, estimates prior to the auction had the sale price falling somewhere between $900,000 and $1,200,000. When the bidding came to an end, a sale price of $880,000, inclusive of the buyer's premium, would be realized.

By Jeremy McMullen