Description
Lagonda launched the 4. 5 Litre M45 in 1933. The new car utilised a modified and strengthened ZM chassis from the Lagonda 3-litre and retained the same 10ft 9in wheelbase.
The engine was the well-tried 6ESC unit sourced from Henry Meadows Ltd. and featured an alloy crankcase and sump mated to a block and cylinder head of chromidium cast iron. The 6ESC produced some 108 bhp and was fed by twin SU carburettors and electric fuel pumps. A Meadows T8 gearbox provided fast and smooth gearchanges, the servo braking system was by Girling and the M45 featured steering column-controlled Andre-Hartford dampers.
The result was a fast and hairy-chested thoroughbred for the discerning and well-heeled driver.
A copy of the original build sheet on file confirms chassis Z11136 was supplied on the 1st September 1934 to London-based prestige car dealer and founder of Vanden Plas in England, Warwick Wright. Vanden Plas then built a ‘Continental Tourer’ two-door open body with number 3272 and the new car was completed in time for display at the Olympia Motor Show in October 1934. A photograph of the car on the stand appears in Brian Smith’s book ‘Vanden Plas Coachbuilders’.
These cars were known as ‘Continental Tourers’ and featured wind-up door windows and removable glass windows to the rear. A letter on file from the Lagonda Club states only three Lagondas were built to this design.
Z11136 was first registered on the 1st September 1935 and by 1957 was in the possession of a Mr A. Taylor of West Hartlepool. A letter on file from Mr. Taylor to a prospective purchaser confirms the car had been ‘maintained to a very high standard with coachwork in almost original condition and a mechanical section in pristine condition’.
By 1983 the Lagonda was with Mr. Charles James Hume Logan a prominent surgeon living in Comber, Northern Ireland. Invoices and photographs on file show Mr. Logan restored the Lagonda between 1983 and 1987.
George Dodds of Enfield, Greater London acquired the Lagonda in October 1996 before being purchased in February 1997 by James Fuller of Ford dealers Fullers of Malden.
In 2000 the Lagonda was sold to Mr. Horst Willhelm of Wiesbaden, Germany and was maintained by Belgian Lagonda specialists LMB Racing.
The car’s previous owner, an active member of the Lagonda Club, purchased the M45 in 2004 from Lagonda specialist Julian Messent and subsequently spent in excess of £60, 000 on mechanical restoration of the engine, rear axle/ differential suspension and brakes.
The engine was fully rebuilt in 2013 by VBE Restorations and Formhalls Vintage & Racing with new cylinder block, pistons, conrods, inlet and exhaust valves, crank damper and used crankshaft.
In 2015, the rear axle/ differential was rebuilt by Classic Performance Engineering. The front and rear hubs were replaced, the half-shafts, front dampers and brakes rebuilt and new rear leaf springs fitted. Invoices for this work totalled over £25, 000. A restored Scintilla magneto and modern-style oil filter and pressure relief unit were also fitted in 2015 and a new radiator in 2016.
Our Lagonda’s previous owner invested a significant amount of money to keep this handsome M45 in beautiful driving condition and remains in very good order today.
In summary, the Lagonda M45 is a powerful and practical pre-war motor car with a full folding roof and wind-up windows. In 2008 the car took part in the Lagonda Club Northern Rally to Orkney and Shetland which confirms it as an intelligent choice for pre-war long distance touring.
