For Sale: 1937 Lagonda LG45 in Saint Louis, Missouri

Lagonda is best known as a stalwart of exclusive British motoring, but the Staines, Middlesex firm was actually founded by an American former opera singer and entrepreneur named Wilbur Gunn. Finding periodic success with 3-wheeled cyclecars, Gunn, rather unusually, looked to Russia as a market for Lagonda, and 30hp six-cylinder model established the firm's reputation with a win on the Moscow-St. Petersburg Reliability Trial in 1910, resulting in steady success.
Wilbur Gunn died in 1920, and the board that succeeded him realized that the competitive light car market was not sustainable. Shifting its focus to more powerful sporting cars, the Lagonda that we know and love took form, led by the twin-cam 14/60. For 1934 the new M45 arrived with a Meadows-built 4.5-litre six-cylinder engine and gearbox. These formidable machines were capable of 90mph, while lighter open tourers could readily reach the 'ton'.
The factory prepared three special short chassis M45s (soon to be known as the Rapide) which were used to very good effect at the 1934 RAC Tourist Trophy. Lagonda followed up a year later with one of the TT team cars taking outright victory at Le Mans. Following Lagonda's purchase by Alan P. Good, W.O. Bentley was brought on board as technical director, leaving his tumultuous tenure at Rolls-Royce behind. Bentely revised the M45 with synchromesh gears, flexible engine mountings, and centralized chassis lubrication, to become the new LG45. Some Lagonda drivers (including company director Dick Watney) felt, however, that the LG45 had become too refined, losing some of the raw energy they loved in the M45.
Watney brought on Frank Feeley (famed post-war Aston Martin designer) to design a new sports car based on the LG45 but limiting him to using the same chassis and restricting special parts. Feeley penned a striking, flamboyant and greatly lightened four-seat tourer body, while Bentley tweaked the 4.5-litre Meadows six-cylinder engine even further, with upwards of 7.5:1 compression available. Any criticism of Lagonda was silenced when, in 1937, testers from Motor magazine reached an astonishing 108mph in an LG45 Rapide.
Chassis number 12245/G10S is a coveted, genuine LG45 Rapide, one of just 25 such examples built, and it features the highly desirable 'Sanction 4' Bentley-tuned Meadows engine. An exquisite machine in every respect, this car wears a world-class restoration backed by fascinating provenance dating to its original owner. According to research by prior custodians, this stunning motorcar was delivered new in 1937 to Mr. F.G. Casswell of Spalding, Lincolnshire, England, registered FPJ 199. In 1938, just prior to the outbreak of World War II, it passed to Mr. Morris of Hemel Hempstead, and changed hands once again a year later, transferring to Mr. Laurence Mitchell of Fittleworth, Sussex.
In 1955, the Lagonda was acquired from Mr. Mitchell by Josh Shirman, a mechanic, shop owner, and former De Havilland aircraft engineer. Mr. Mitchell was one of Shirman's exclusive customers, and Shirman had reportedly looked after 12245 for years before his acquiring it. Since Shirman was focused on his growing business, he did not register the Lagonda until 1963. Said to have been quite the perfectionist, Shirman proved the ideal steward of this very special Lagonda, keeping it in fine order for the next 50 years. Aside from occasional brief runs to circulate the fluids, the Rapide was used sparingly - so sparingly, in fact, that experts believed it lost- despite it quietly residing just a mile from the former Lagonda factory for some 35 years! MOT records on file show the car covered just 1,700 miles between 1974 and its ultimate sale in 2008.
The noted Lagonda aficionado and collector Ron Rezek of Ashland, Oregon, acquired 12245 from the Shirman family in 2008, via a Bonhams Sale in Goodwood. Under Rezek's experienced guidance, it underwent a comprehensive restoration by the acclaimed RX Autoworks, of Vancouver, B.C. during 2010-2011, returning it to its glorious original colors and factory specification. The project revealed that 12245 had remarkably high levels of originality and integrity, no doubt made possibly by Josh Shirman's half-century of care. Original colors and finishes were discovered and matched, and wherever possible, the factory wood body framing and aluminum coachwork were restored rather than replaced.
Following its completion, the Lagonda was shown at prestigious events including the Forest Grove Concours (taking Best in Class and Best in Show), Quail Lodge (Best in Class), and shown at the 2013 Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este. In 2015, a private collector from California acquired 12245 from Rezek, reportedly maintaining it to very high standards. In 2023, the Lagonda joined another West Coast collection, where it was further refined and dialed in by its meticulous owner, and is now said to be effortless to drive and enjoy. The car retains its original, numbers-matching 4.5-litre Meadows Sanction 4 engine and is equipped with matching weather equipment, tool kit, jack, and starting handle. Supporting documentation is extensive, including service and UK MOT records, Lagonda Club correspondence, and factory-issued build sheet and service card. Virtually every surface and finish has been carefully considered and executed to an extremely high standard, and the car remains worthy of the most exclusive concours and motoring events in the world.
Visually arresting in its factory-correct green over black livery, Frank Feeley's breathtaking coachwork displays a flamboyance that is in stark contrast to most British designs of the period. As stunning to drive as it is to witness, this powerful Lagonda LG45 Rapide undoubtedly lives up to its name. This is quite possibly the quintessential big-bore British sports car of the pre-war era. It is a must have for any serious collection, with power, grace, and the great W.O. Bentley signature found throughout its makeup.

Offers welcome and trades considered .