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Lagonda
is one of the big names in the British motorcar industry. In 1906, the
brand made its entree in Staines, England, and was founded by an
American named Wilbur Gunn.
Lagonda
initially built engines and motorcycles but started the manufacturing of
small, light-weight cars, and powerful passenger cars in the 1930s.
In 1935, a
Lagonda M45 won the 24-hour Le Mans race, which made the brand famous
straight away. The winning Lagonda BPK 202 was raced by
John Hindmarsh en Louis Fontes...
In 1935, W.O. Bentley joined Lagonda who developed the finest engines
for the company including the legendary V12 which saw
the light of day in the year 1938.
In 1947, Lagonda was taken over by David Brown, the owner of Aston
Martin. Hence, the engines developed by W.O. Bentley found their way to
Aston Martin. After Brown’s take-over, a new age dawned for Lagonda,
and, on a modest scale, they started building large touring cars,
saloons and drop-head coupe's that had many sports car characteristics
below the surface. Lagondas were built until 1965, till, in 1976 the
distinguishably designed Aston Lagonda appeared.
The Lagonda is nowadays one of the ‘dormant’ brands. The brand name
is still owned by Aston Martin, which, in its turn, is part of the Ford
Motor Corporation.
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