1935 Lagonda Rapier Tourer

• One of the finest sporting cars of the 1930s
• Restored in 2004
• Many-time concours award winner
• Engine rebuilt in 2021

In production from the late spring of 1934, the Lagonda Rapier was sold in chassis form for customers choose their own body from their coachbuilder of choice; Abbott and Ranalah proving to be the most popular. The car's most notable feature was its gem of an engine: a four-cylinder, 1,104cc twin-overhead-camshaft unit producing 45bhp on twin SU's. It boasts a sturdy chassis frame, the wonderful ENV four-speed pre-selector gearbox and powerful 13" diameter Girling brakes. For its engine size the Rapier was in a class of its own, revving comfortably to 5,500 rpm and turning in impressive acceleration figures on its way to a top speed of around 75mph. With such a specification, the model was necessarily expensive to produce; sales were low and in late 1935 the company went into receivership.
Chris Wiblin's book Twin-Cam Extravagance records that chassis number 'D11339' was bodied as a fixed-head coupé by coachbuilder E D Abbott of Farnham and delivered to Central Garage, Bradford in January 1935. This car was first registered in Wakefield, West Yorkshire and retains its original registration. The car was totally dismantled in 1971 and a rebuilt as a four-seater tourer special. Restoration commenced in 1982 and was completed in 2004. Since then, the car has been entered in concours competitions at various shows, winning an impressive collection of awards, and has appeared at several VSCC events over the last five years, also with some success.

The car is offered with a V5 registration document and the VSCC 'Buff Form' together with a copy of Twin-Cam Extravagance and a history file showing all the recent work carried out. The latter includes an engine rebuild in 2021 with new big-end bearings and timing chains; the cylinder head refaced; and the clutch relined.
The car was driven round North Devon on a regular basis during last year and the current owner states that the driving experience brings a permanent smile to the face. There is a ready supply of spare parts through membership of the Rapier Register, which is also an excellent source of advice and information; all of which make Rapier ownership significantly less stressful than many other makes of the same era.

This sale is a rare opportunity to acquire a well restored and good-looking example of what is widely recognised as one of the finest sporting cars of the 1930s. Included in the sale are a jack, tools, two car covers, and a box of assorted spares.