1934 Lagonda 3-Litre Tourer

Testing a Lagonda 3-Litre in 1929, The Motor marvelled at the flexibility of the engine (capable of accelerating from 5mph to 80mph in top gear) and stated that 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.” Sentiments echoed by Motor Sport who declared the 3-Litre to be “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.”  In total, some 580 3-Litre models were made before it was replaced in 1934 by the new M45 (with the improved ZMBS chassis and Meadows 4.25 6ESC engine) and it's thought that only around 150 survive today.

Delivered new to a customer in Victoria, Australia, this 1934 3.2-litre Lagonda was originally fitted with ST24A saloon coachwork. It was owned by the Williams family and would have been a very expensive purchase back then. By the late 1940s, it was in the hands of Bill Brooks who sold it to Don Frazer in Adelaide in 1961 who ran an engineering business. It was he who rebodied the car in its current form, a sporting four-seat tourer using the original scuttle, bonnet and wings. He kept it until 1972, passing it to Gordon Lindsay who was to enjoy the car for another few years before it moved to Tasmania to a new owner Bart Hutchings. He soon sent it to local restorer Nigel Grace for attention, the bodywork being refurbished and repainted green with black wings – the livery it wears today.

A change of hands again and a trip to New Zealand followed, before arriving back in the UK in 1989 when it was registered MSU 895. Our vendor is a stalwart of the VSCC and knowledgeable Lagonda enthusiast and since purchasing the 3-Litre in 2005 he has enjoyed it very much and has kept on top of care and maintenance. Around three years ago, the door cards were retrimmed and a new hood and tonneau fitted, along with some restoration of the sidescreens and, in May 2020 he had a new clutch fitted, the invoice remaining on file for the parts from the Lagonda Club. It also comes with a copy handbook, manual and a 'Buff' logbook

Described by our vendor as in nice but not concours condition, it runs and drives really well and looks to be a good usable example with attractive coachwork and decent performance.