Speed Model
A team of special Speed Models entered the major long distance races of 1928 and the lessons learnt led to the introduction of a low chassis version in 1929, the racing team that year being run by Fox & Nicholl, a formidable and very successful private entrant. The 2 litre had an intrinsic breathing problem which the factory tackled by introducing a supercharged version in 1930, capable of a genuine 90 mph in standard tune. This was seen as a courageous step at the time since early superchargers were not renowned for reliability.
3 Litre Selector
Lagonda’s buoyant market was hit particularly hard by the Depression in 1931 and in an effort to boost slow sales of the 3 Litre the company adopted the ‘Selector’ gearbox from Maybach, which permitted clutchless gearchanging. It was, however, so heavy that the chassis, unchanged since 1926, had totally to be redesigned and more power sought by boring out the engine to 75 mm from 72 mm. By 1932 the fashion for small ‘sixes’ had made it very difficult to sell the 4 cylinder 2 Litre. The company could not afford to pay for, or wait for, a new design of its own, so a decision was made to install a Crossley six of 1991 cc into the latest version of the 2 Litre, called the Continental. The new model was christened the 16/80.
The 4.5 Litre
This use of bought-in components was a new world to Lagonda and the following year saw a similar installation of a 4.5 litre Meadows six cylinder engine into a modified 3 Litre chassis to make the M45 model. A 50% increase in power with no increase in weight produced dramatic performance gains and another instant success. The factory had some difficulty keeping up with demand. At the same time, they explored the opposite end of the quality sports car market with the 1104 cc Rapier, designed by Tim Ashcroft. The anticipated demand for this would have overwhelmed the Lagonda bodyshop, so it was to be sold as a chassis only, with the customer expected to commission his own bodywork. This move proved unpopular and in practice nearly all Rapiers were bodied by Abbott of Farnham.