Property of a deceased's estate

1932 Lagonda 3-Litre Special Drophead Coupé

Coachwork by Carlton Carriage Company Registration no. FW 3154 Chassis no. Z10144

Footnotes

Formerly with Lea Francis, designer Arthur Davidson was responsible for the six-cylinder engine in Lagonda's new '16/65' model. Originally of 2,692cc, the seven-bearing overhead-valve unit was enlarged to 2,931cc (and later to 3,181cc) to create the 3-Litre model of 1928, finally being stretched to 3,619cc for the short-lived 3½-Litre in 1934, by which time the Meadows-engined cars were seen as the way forward. From 1929 onwards though, the model was available in sporting 'low chassis' form, this new frame having resulted from the company's racing experience.

Testing a Lagonda 3-Litre in 1929, The Motor reckoned it was "difficult to imagine a car nearer an ideal than one which combines the full performance of a speed model with the top gear performance of the best modern touring car". The 3-litre was, indeed, exceptionally flexible, being able to accelerate from 5mph to its maximum of around 80mph in top gear. Motor Sport summed up the 3-Litre Lagonda as "a very pleasant car of very high quality, and possessing that indefinable but very definite character which stamps the thoroughbred in every walk of life" – sentiments with which we can only concur.

According to marque authority Arnold Davey, there were circa 24 Lagondas bodied as drophead coupés by Carlton between 1931 and 1935 (that would include the 2-Litre, 3-Litre and 4½-Litre [M45] cars). It is believed that only two Carlton Drophead Coupés still exist, making this example a very rare car indeed.

This Lagonda 3-Litre's history can be traced back to 1934 when it was purchased from a London showroom by Stanley Herbert Smith of Broughton, near Preston, passing to his son, Stanley Bernard Smith, in 1951. The Smiths owned a local cotton manufacturing business: JR & A Smith. The accompanying old-style continuation logbook (issued 1947) reveals that the car was black at that time. Apart from a colour change, the only known deviation from factory specification is the fitting of flashing indicators.

Other documentation on file states that S B Smith owned the Lagonda until 1976. Some six years later, in 1982, 'FW 3154' was purchased from a garage in Market Drayton by the vendor's late father. A keen member of the Lagonda Club, the VSCC, and his local car club (Salop Yesteryear Motor Club), its late owner maintained the car assiduously and used it regularly until his death in 2019. There is a substantial file of history with the Lagonda, including bills and photographs relating to a complete engine rebuild carried out by Bradeney Farm Workshops of Worfield, Shropshire in 2010/2011. The file also contains an buff logbook; old-style V5 document; a copy 3-Litre Lagonda instruction book; a spares catalogue; numerous copies of the Lagonda Club newsletter and Register of Members; several books on the marque; plentiful paperwork; and the aforementioned old-style logbook. Described by the private vendor as in generally good condition, this highly desirable Post-Vintage Thoroughbred looks forward to its next enthusiastic new owner.