Footnotes

"It has long been my ambition to produce a car which would be equally suitable to drive or to be driven in, great comfort, large luggage carrying capacity yet still be exhilarating to the owner driver and capable of effortless sustained high performance. There is such similarity between modern cars that one is fearful of the day when all will look, and be, alike." - David Brown on the Lagonda Rapide.

Aston Martin revived the famous Lagonda name in 1961 with a luxurious four-door sports saloon – the Rapide – that took its appellation from one of the marque's most exalted models of the late 1930s. It had been David Brown's intention that the Rapide should be the "most mechanically advanced car available", offering effortless acceleration to 130mph. Beneath the Rapide's Superleggera aluminium coachwork (by Touring of Milan, the carrozzeria responsible for the Aston Martin DB4 sports car) was a lengthened (by 16") DB4 platform-type chassis reconfigured to accept De Dion rear suspension, the adoption of which allowed rear compartment space to be maximised. Powered by a 4.0-litre (236bhp) version of the Aston Martin DB4's twin-cam 'six' that would later power the DB5 and DB6, the Rapide certainly lived up to its name with brisk acceleration and a 130mph-plus top speed. Dual circuit, servo assisted disc brakes restrained this excellent performance, while fittings to the traditional interior included electric windows, picnic tables to the rear, filler cap remote opener, and a radio as standard. The Rapide's price when new was £5,000, some 25% higher than that of the Aston Martin DB4, which itself was not exactly a cheap automobile. A mere 55 units, almost all of which were equipped with Borg Warner three-speed automatic transmission, were built before production ceased in 1964.

Today, 47 of the original 55 Rapides are known, 'LR/105/R' being the fifth built. Displayed at the 1961 London Motor Show and kept by the factory as a demonstrator and development car, '105/R' was first registered to Aston Martin Lagonda Ltd (as '92 MY') on 11th October 1961. Its original colour scheme was Dubonnet with fawn leather interior trim. On 10th December 1962 the car was registered to David Brown Tractors Ltd followed by AML Ltd (for the second time) on 7th February 1967. Later that same year the Lagonda was registered to its first private owner, Thomas Crumbie of Leicester. Mr Crumbie was followed by Cavendish Press Ltd of Leicester and then Peter Biggs of Cambridgeshire, who is the previous keeper listed on the accompanying V5C document (please note that, as the car was subsequently exported, an application will need to be made to retain the registration number). Registered to Desmond J Smail Ltd, '105/R' was sold by them to the current vendor in November 2010.

Copies of factory paperwork on file record the fact that the engine (originally '400/105') has been changed twice by the factory, the unit currently fitted ('400/1655') being that of a DB6, as is the Borg Warner Type 8 automatic gearbox. Interestingly, the AMOC Register states that '105/R' was treated to a modified front end and changed from a De Dion to a 'beam' rear axle by the factory, and that it is the only example of the proposed Mark 2 series. Its provenance and unusual specification make 'LR/105/R' an extremely interesting and significant example of this rare and wonderful car, which was the personal project of David Brown himself.

The Rapide has been on static display for a number of years and will require recommissioning prior to road use. Please also note the Lot will attract the reduced 5% import tariff if it is to remain in the UK.