Can somebody recognise this classic car?

[Marlon Bodicker]

Hi everybody,

Today I saw a classic car which I've never seen before, and lacking a camera at the moment, I couldn't snap up a few pictures. I'd still like to find out what car it was, so I'm hoping to count on you experts to recognize it from my description.

It's a small, two-seater roadster, no top, without a real windshield (except for two very tiny front windows), in a lovely shade of blue.

There is no logo on the front or on the back, but the radiator grill resembles the grill of a Jaguar XK150 (see below), only flat, cut off at the bottom and without logo.



The car has two headlights, separated from the bonnet, standing on chrome bars which hold the indicators on each side.

At the rear, there is a round, red light at the center (in a chrome holder), just above the license plate. On the left and right, there is a vertical row of three round lights (red, yellow, red, each in a chrome holder), and below the car there are three bars of chrome holding two square fog lights (without holders).

The best way I can describe the car's general shape is that of a canoe turned over at the front, and at the back the shape of the top of a canoe, all the way down but not coming together in one point.

This car sits on four very small tyres, each with their own wheel arch, separate from the car body, like this Lagonda below (which also has similar headlights and radiator grill).



I've been looking at pictures of classics for a few hours, but can't seem to find it - I've come across several Morgans, a few Delahayes, and a few Lagondas which look similar in parts, but are nowhere near close enough.

Does anyone have any idea what kind of car this could have been?

Thanks ever so much!

Marlon

[Hooli]

Allard?

[hot metal]

Probably a 50`s special based on Ford mechanicals, looks a bit Allard or Healey Silverstone-ish. Cougar comes to mind too.

[nicanary]

Rear fog lights? Sounds like a kit-car to me.

[john2443]

Kougar sounds more likely than Silverstone if the grille is XK150 shape.

[superlucent]

Hi,

It's a 1947 Lagonda Prototype. Sold for £45,100 in 2010 (it'll be worth a lot more now)

http://www.classic-auctions.com/Auctions/21-07-201...

[RichB]

superlucent said:

Hi, It's a 1947 Lagonda Prototype. Sold for £45,100 in 2010 (it'll be worth a lot more now) http://www.classic-auctions.com/Auctions/21-07-201...

Certainly that's the car in the OP's picture but I'm not sure that is the car the OP is referring to or just one that looks similar. perhaps the OP can say?

p.s. There was some poetic licence used by the auctioneers in that car's description. "Wren Classics have enhanced its replacement 3-litre AML engine with a DB3S camshaft, DB3S-type cylinder head modifications." really? The key thing about the DB3S cylinder head was that it had twin spark plugs powered by twin distributors driven from the back of each camshaft.

[MrHorsepower]

Sounds a lot like a Kougar except for the grille being flat.

[The Surveyor]

As Hooli said, could it be an Allard J2?

[Marlon Bodicker]

RichB said:

Certainly that's the car in the OP's picture but I'm not sure that is the car the OP is referring to or just one that looks similar. perhaps the OP can say?

p.s. There was some poetic licence used by the auctioneers in that car's description. "Wren Classics have enhanced its replacement 3-litre AML engine with a DB3S camshaft, DB3S-type cylinder head modifications." really? The key thing about the DB3S cylinder head was that it had twin spark plugs powered by twin distributors driven from the back of each camshaft.

Indeed, it's not the car in the picture I posted earlier (that was an example image, the Lagonda has more or less the same setup with the wheels/arches separated from the body).

By now I've seen just about every Allard, Kougar & Healy (thanks for the suggestions guys!), but I fear this car is a lot less "special" or exciting... All these cars have a long bonnet, and a two-seater arrangement at the end, the car I'm looking for has a "boot" about as long as the bonnet, so driver and passenger sit right in the middle. It's also a lot higher off the ground than these roadsters (maybe roadster is not the right term). It also has a fifth (spare) wheel on the right side, and a chrome exhaust coming out from the bonnet, running sideways along the car.

After tracking down the owner of the garage where the car is housed (who merely offers the space for rent and unfortunately doesn't know anything about cars), I've had a little chat with him, and I've snapped up two pictures of the car (potatoecam quality, alas). I've blacked out the number plate and part of the garage, because I do not have the car owner's permission.




Any ideas? It certainly looks more like a sunday-afternoon-stroll car than the rather driver-focused cars that were suggested, I fear...

Thanks again!

Marlon

[Roy C]

It looks like a Lomax. You can see the 2CV cylinder head poking out under the headlamp.

[spoodler]

Yep. 2CV based Lomax 224 kit car. Lots of fun in its own right but likely to disappoint those on here who thought you'd spotted a Healey Silverstone or similar...

[nicanary]

Told you it was a kit-car. What classic has rear fog lights?

[Marlon Bodicker]

Thanks everyone for helping, and thanks Roy C and spoodler for telling me it's a Lomax - I hope it wasn't too big a disappointment, I for one sure was glad to find out what it was!

nicanary said:

Told you it was a kit-car. What classic has rear fog lights?

In retrospect, that should have been a clue, but (as has been proven my thread) my knowledge of both kit cars and classics leaves a lot of room for improvement

Thanks again!

Marlon

[Roy C]

Oh, well. Here's a nice blue Silverstone anyway...

[slomax]

actually it's a Le Patron - very similar to a lomax 224, but not quite the same