The Lagonda Company was started by an American, Wilbur Gunn, who had two main interests, engineering and singing. Although he had been apprenticed to Singers in America, it was as an opera singer he came to Britain. he built a steam yacht 'Giralda' that won wagers as to which was the fastest boat on the Thames, and eventually started to build motorcycles in 1898 working from the greenhouse of his home at Staines, around which the factory eventually grew. The name Lagonda was the Shawnee Indian name for what is now Buck Creek in Gunn's native Springfield, Ohio, Wilbur being born in 1859. In 1948 the company merged with Aston Martin.

The 2-Liter Lagonda was the most popular model that could reach 80 miles per hour. Two 1928 Lagondas competed at LeMans with one finishing in 11th place.