Oof - 7-litre Lagonda Series One for sale
Aston Martin has too often fumbled the Lagonda ball - but not with the car that Dr Ulrich Bez bought
Monterey Car Week is upon us and there’s every indication it’s going to be one for the ages. High-end manufacturers of virtually every description are queuing up to launch something that looks good under Californian sun; invariably, something vanishingly rare and impossibly expensive. Granted, that does tend to mean the event is more for the one-percenters than the likes of us - but without the bottomless pockets of the intended audience, many if not most of these cars would never be built. And that would be a shame.
Plus, of course, one end of the car industry has always catered to the tastes of the lucky few. Aston Martin’s legacy in this regard is as storied as any, especially when trying to do something a little different. In the past, it occasionally used Lagonda as a conduit, the marque it acquired back in 1947, mostly with the intention of broadening its appeal. That most people, if they’ve heard of Lagonda at all, associate the name with the William Towns-designed wedge says much about its success in the venture (or lack thereof).
But that model was the Series Two. The Series One, while also designed by Towns, was a very different kettle of fish. David Brown himself had requested a four-door prototype based on the DBS in the 1969; the production version was launched in 1974. Expensive? Just a bit. The vendor in the case of this car, one of just seven sold, suggests that its £14k asking price eclipsed the starting cost of a Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow, which says everything you need to know about Aston’s ambitions for the car.
Not that it needed Pebble Beach to announce such a thing. This was the very car that appeared on the Aston Martin stand at the Earls Court Motor Show, albeit in a different colour. Unfortunately, while the 324hp 5.3-litre V8-powered Lagonda was doubtlessly more spirited than its luxury-minded rivals, it ran headlong into the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis, which helped to kibosh its appeal in the States. As a result, the Series One was consigned to the history books before it even really got started.
That makes every example a thing of note, though it is surely this one that takes all the plaudits. Not just for its show car status - though that would be enough - but also because a) it is one of only two treated to an R.S.Williams engine rebuild, taking the V8 to 7 litres and the best part of 500hp, and b) it was later acquired by Dr Ulrich Bez (then Chairman of Aston) on behalf of the factory. In between those events, it was updated with ‘Oscar India’ bodywork and a Cumberland Grey paint job. Which, for our money, is like putting Bond in a dinner jacket.
Perhaps the installation of a ‘Wildberry’ interior is a little more divisive - and that stereo system is obviously not period-accurate - but this Lagonda is less about originality and more about provenance and sought-after perfection. Moreover, thanks to the DBS-inherited looks (a trick Aston would pull again with the modern-day Rapide), the Series One feels less like a curiosity and more like a handsome, slightly stern British V8 saloon. If Monterey Car Week, half a century after the fact, turns up anything so charismatic, we really will be in for a treat.
Just don’t expect power at the wheels to be similar to power at the crankshaft… half it to be safe.
Just don t expect power at the wheels to be similar to power at the crankshaft half it to be safe.
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