Motor Sport October 1935
A NEW 4½-LITRE LAGONDA
 
THE OLD NAME REVIVED IN A RE-DESIGNED CAR WHICH PROMISES OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE
A car which is able to win the Grand Prix d’Endurance at Le Mans and to perform so magnificently on the two occasions at which it has run at Ulster was obviously too good to be allowed to disappear. The new Company took over the Lagonda works at Staines at the beginning of July, and under the technical direction of Mr. W. O. Bentley, whose name is too well-known to readers of "Motor Sport" to need further qualification, a completely designed 4½-litre model now makes its bow.
Under the old regime, it will be recalled, there were two 4½-litre models, the Standard and the Rapid,. The new car has the same wheelhase as the Stantard, which was 10 ft. 9 ins., which will allow full five-seater coachwork to be fitted without overhahg at the back. Particular attention has been paid to the springing and the new cars will be comfortable to ride in without losing any of that road-holding which one associate with the cars which Mr. Bentley has designed.
The powerful Girling brakes which were such a feature of the Rapide will be used on the new car, while the engine has been modified and the power output raised to 140 h.p. which will ensure a certain 100 m.p.h. with open coachwork. At the moment two styles of coachwork have been decided on, the open four seater, which will cost complete £975, and a four-door saloon which is priced at £1,050. As will be seen from the illustrations, both of these are graceful yet essentially practical designs, which should appeal to the man who wants to use his car for hard driving and finds it difficult to reconcile himself to the exaggerated tail and other “embroidery” which disfigure so many of the vehicles of the present-day.
On the tourer the wheels will be carried in wells in the wings and a locker for two large suitcases is concealed in the tail. The back panel hinges down and can be used as a luggage platform for carrying a trunk. On the saloon a large luggage compartment is provided in the usual position.
The dimensions of the six-cylinder engine are bore 88.5 mm., stroke 136.4 mm., giving a capacity of 4,453 c.c. and an R.A.C. rating of 29.13 h.p. With a compression ratio of 6.8 to 1, 140 horsepower is produced at 3,800 r.p.m. The engine has a detachable cast-iron head with two valves per cylinder, operated by push-rods and rockers. The pistons are of special alloy and are fitted with three compression and two scraper rings. The crank-shaft is carried on four main bearings.
Magneto ignition is used, with automatic advance and retard in conjunction with a lever on the steering column. Two S.U. carburetters are standardised, with a mixture control for easy starting.
The oil is pressure-fed to all parts of the engine, and the sump holds 2½ gallons. The characteristic Lagonda radiator with its thermostatically-controlled shutters is retained, and cooling is assisted by a water pump and a fan. The engine is mounted on slightly flexible supports.
The clutch is a single dry-plate unit, and the gear-box, which is mounted separately from the engine, has synchromesh mechanism on third and top gears. The ratios are 3.66, 4.76, 6.5 and 11.49 to 1 and a right-hand gear lever is used. The transmission is by an open propellor-shaft fitted with a needle-bearing universal joint at each end and the final drive through the semi-floating rear axle is by spiral bevel. The petrol tank holds twenty gallons and a quick-opening filler cap is provided on each side of the car. Electric pumps feed the petrol to the carburetters, and there is a reserve of two gallons which can be turned on from the driving compartment.
The suspension is by means of long semi-elliptic springs of special design, with hydraulic shock absorbers controllable from the driving seat. The brakes are of the Girling type, working in drums almost as large as the wheels. These latter, incidentally, are 3.62 by 18 ins., and carry Fort Dunlop tyres measuring 6 ins. by 18 ins.
Worm and lever steering is used with adjustment for rake, and a longer column can be supplied to order.
The chassis is automatically lubricated by means of a Tecalemit pump, while the Jackall hydraulic jacking system is another item which will be appreciated by the owner-driver.
The wheelbase is 10 ft. 9 ins., and the track 4 ft. 9½ ins. The weight of the chassis, which is priced at £795, comes out at 27¼ cwt, while the tourer and the closed cars weigh respectively 34 and 37 cwt. The drop-head coupe will cost £1,125.
Unfortunately the new Lagonda was produced too late to allow its being exhibited at Olympia, but one of the new cars may be seen in London at the showrooms of Messrs. Kevill-Davies and March at 28, Berkeley Street, W.1. The 4½-litre Lagonda as originally produced already had many admirers amongst sporting motorists and this faster and better-sprung successor should command even greater favour.