Lagonda 3 liter
| Lagonda | |
|---|---|
 Lagonda 3 Liter Four Door Saloon
|
|
| 3 liters | |
| Production period: | 1953-1958 |
| Class : | Upper class |
| Body versions : | Sedan , coupe , convertible |
| Engines: |
Petrol engine 2.9 liters (142 hp) |
| Length: | 4978 mm |
| Width: | 1765 mm |
| Height: | 1515 mm |
| Wheelbase : | 2883 mm |
| Empty weight : | 1600 kg |
| Previous model | Lagonda 2.6 liter |
| successor | Lagonda Rapide |
The Lagonda 3 liter (alternatively also spelled with a hyphen Lagonda 3 liter ) was a luxury vehicle that the British automobile manufacturer Aston Martin offered from 1953 to 1958 under the brand name Lagonda . The car is the second Lagonda model after the 2.6 liter that was launched after the company was taken over by David Brown . The 3 liter factory was available as a four-door sedan, a two-door coupé and a convertible. It is widely believed that fewer than 300 vehicles of this type were built.
background
Lagonda was a British automobile manufacturer founded in 1906 by the American Wilbur Gunn. The name of the company was derived from the Lagonda Creek River in the American state of Ohio .
After Lagonda had initially produced small vehicles, from the 1920s onwards the company increasingly oriented itself towards the upper-class automotive segment and eventually competed with Rolls-Royce , Bentley and Daimler . After bankruptcy in 1935, there was a change of ownership, as a result of which the engineer Walter Owen Bentley came to Lagonda, who had previously sold his own company to Rolls-Royce. Among other things, Bentley developed a high-performance six-cylinder in-line engine for Lagonda, although this initially did not go into production due to the outbreak of World War II . After the end of the war, Lagonda constructed individual prototypes, but initially did not resume automobile production for lack of capital and for legal reasons.
In 1947 Lagonda was bought by the British entrepreneur David Brown , who together with the sports car manufacturer Aston Martin, which is also part of his group, became Aston Martin Lagonda Ltd. merged. The main reason for the takeover of Lagonda was the in-line six-cylinder engine designed by W. O. Bentley, which, in Brown's opinion, was clearly superior to the outdated four-cylinder engines from Aston Martin: Brown wanted to equip Aston Martin sports cars with the Lagonda six-cylinder in the future. In the Aston Martin DB2 and its offshoots, this engine established the brand's sporty reputation in the 1950s.
After the two companies were merged, Brown resumed automobile production under the Lagonda brand in 1948. In contrast to the Aston Martin brand, which was still responsible for open and closed sports and racing cars, Lagonda offered sedate, conservatively designed luxury coupés and limousines. The first model of the so-called David Brown Lagondas was the Lagonda 2.6 liter, which, like the Aston Martin sports car, had the Bentley six-cylinder engine. It was replaced in 1953 by the technically very similar Lagonda 3 liter. After ten years, in which a total of around 800 vehicles had been manufactured, the era of the David Brown Lagondas ended. From 1961 to 1964 there was still the Lagonda Rapide with Aston Martin technology; this very expensive and stylistically not undisputed car was only produced in double-digit numbers. From 1974 the term Lagonda was repeatedly used as a brand name for different Aston Martin sedans ( Aston Martin Lagonda Series 1 and Aston Martin Lagonda Series 2-4 ).
technology
The technology of the 3 liter largely corresponded to that of the previous 2.6 liter model. The most important differentiating feature was the six-cylinder engine, the displacement of which had been increased to 2.9 liters (2922 cm³). The engine output increased from 107 to 142 hp. As with the previous model, the engine had two overhead camshafts and two valves per cylinder. The mixture was prepared using two SU carburettors, which were larger than the previous model. A four-speed manual gearbox from David Brown was supplied as standard. The 3 liter had drum brakes on all four wheels, they were mounted on the inside at the rear.
The Lagonda 3 Liter had an X-shaped steel chassis that was completely identical to that of the previous model. WO Bentley had designed the structure before the outbreak of World War II. On top of it was a steel floor assembly to which the body panels were attached. Unusually for the time, all the wheels were individually suspended . Forwards were coil springs used rear torsion bar springs .
body
The body of the 3 liter was completely redesigned. As with the previous model, Frank Feeley was the responsible designer. The proportions of the car were essentially the same as those of the 2.6 liter, but the 3 liter was a total of 20 cm longer than its predecessor. In terms of outer length, it corresponded to the Jaguar Mark VII . The body of the 3 liter was designed as a pontoon body , i. H. the front fenders were no longer molded, but instead seamlessly integrated into the body of the body. Rear fenders were slightly indicated. Like its predecessor , the 3 liter had so-called suicide doors at the front , which were attached to the B-pillar and opened to the rear. It was one of the last newly introduced cars to feature such a door concept.
The bodies of the 3 liter were manufactured exclusively by Tickford in Newport Pagnell , an initially independent body manufacturer which was taken over by David Brown in 1955. Most of the production was done by hand. In contrast to the case of the 2.6 liter, there were no individual special bodies from independent manufacturers on the 3 liter chassis.
Model history
The body of the 3 liter first appeared in autumn 1953 in a series of special models of the 2.6 liter. The London Lagonda dealer Brooklands of Bond Street bought the last 16 chassis of the Lagonda 2.6 liter in 1953 and had them fitted by Tickford with the body of the future Lagonda 3 liter. Ten of them were convertibles and six were two-door coupes. These vehicles initially had the 2.6 liter engine of the original version; in some cases, however, they were retrofitted with the new model's 3-liter six-cylinder when it was available.
From 1953 to 1955 the first series of the Lagonda 3 Liter ("Mark I") was created. It was offered as a four-door saloon (Four Door Saloon), as a two-door coupé (Two Door Saloon) and as a convertible (Drophead Coupé). A total of 183 copies of the Mark I.
In April 1955 a second series was launched (“Mark II”). It was only available as a sedan and a convertible. Technically, the second series corresponded completely to the first; the only differences were visual details such as the shape and positioning of the fuel filler cap, individual lighting components and decorative strips. The windshield was also reshaped. Less than 100 vehicles of the second series were built in three years.
Prices
The four-door version of the 3 Liter Mark II was launched in 1956 at £ 3,901 including tax, while the convertible was priced at £ 4,501. The Lagonda was thus more expensive than the four-door Bristol 405 , which sold for £ 3,586. Shortly after the presentation, David Brown cut prices to £ 2,999 for the sedan and £ 3,376 for the convertible, respectively. Lagonda thus significantly undercut the price of the Bristol; on the other hand, it was still more expensive than a Jensen Interceptor (£ 2,701), an Alvis TC 108 / G with Graber body or a better equipped Jaguar Mark VIII (£ 1,998).
production
The Lagonda 3 Liter was not a commercial success. According to the majority of the sources, fewer than 300 copies were made in both series in five years. The information on the scope of production sometimes differs considerably from one another in the literature. Some sources speak of up to 430 vehicles, others of 270 or 261 copies.
The following breakdowns can be found in individual sources:
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The low success of the 3 liter is attributed among other things to the very high sales price at the time. The car was heavy and had no sporty driving behavior. Since the car was only produced in the factory as a right-hand drive, export to continental European or North American markets was practically ruled out. The 3 liter was essentially a vehicle for the British upper class. Prince Philip was one of the most prominent Lagonda drivers.
Trivia
In the British feature film The Vicious Circle (1957; German title: Interpol ruft Berlin ), a 3 liter limousine is used in a chase.
Technical specifications
| Technical data Lagonda 3 liter | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Engine: | Six-cylinder in-line engine | ||
| Displacement: | 2922 cc | ||
| Bore × stroke: | 83 × 90 | ||
| Performance at 1 / min: | 104 kW (142 hp) at 5000 | ||
| Max. Torque at 1 / min: | 220 Nm at 2000 | ||
| Compression: | 8.16: 1 | ||
| Mixture preparation: | Carburetor | ||
| Valve control: | OHC valve control | ||
| Cooling: | Water cooling | ||
| Transmission: | fully synchronized manual four-speed transmission | ||
| Front and rear suspension: | Independent suspension | ||
| Body: | Steel on an x-shaped steel chassis | ||
| Wheelbase: | 2883 mm | ||
| Dimensions: | 4978 × 1765 × 1575 | ||
| Empty weight: | 1600 | ||
| Top speed: | 104 mph | ||
literature
- Andrew Noakes: Aston Martin fascination . Parragon, Bath 2006, ISBN 978-1-4054-7900-4 .
- William Presland: Aston Martin V8 . Crowood Press 2009. ISBN 978-1-84797-066-4
- Rainer Schlegelmilch, Hartmut Lehbrinck, Jochen von Osterroth: Aston Martin . Verlag Könemann 2005. ISBN 3-8331-1058-9 .
- Andrew Whyte: The Aston Martin and Lagonda. Volume 1: Six-cylinder DB models. Motor Racing Publications, London 1984, ISBN 0-900549-83-1 .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Overview of the Lagonda prototypes from the 1940s on the website www.db-lagonda.com , accessed on May 12, 2015.
- ↑ The basis for this was a judicial dispute between WO Bentley and Rolls-Royce over the assignment of naming rights. For this in detail William Presland: Aston Martin V8 . Crowood Press 2009. ISBN 978-1-84797-066-4 , p. 9 and the description of the legal dispute on the website www.db-lagonda.com (accessed on May 12, 2015).
- ↑ Andrew Noakes: Fascination Aston Martin . Parragon, Bath 2006, ISBN 978-1-4054-7900-4 , p. 30.
- ^ Robert Coucher: Lagonda 3 liter . Brief description in: Classic Cars Spezial 1994: Englische Oldtimer, p. 72.
- ↑ William Presland: Aston Martin V8 . Crowood Press 2009. ISBN 978-1-84797-066-4 , p. 9.
- ↑ Technical data of the Lagonda 3 Liter on the website www.db-lagonda.com (accessed on May 12, 2015).
- ↑ Andrew Whyte: The Aston Martin and Lagonda. Volume 1: Six-cylinder DB models. Motor Racing Publications, London 1984, ISBN 0-900549-83-1 , p. 37.
- ↑ Andrew Whyte: The Aston Martin and Lagonda. Volume 1: Six-cylinder DB models. Motor Racing Publications, London 1984, ISBN 0-900549-83-1 , p. 29.
- ↑ Illustration of the chassis on the website www.db-lagonda.com (accessed on May 8, 2015).
- ↑ Technical drawings of the wheel suspensions on the website www.db-lagonda.com (accessed on May 8, 2015).
- ^ A b Andrew Whyte: The Aston Martin and Lagonda. Volume 1: Six-cylinder DB models. Motor Racing Publications, London 1984, ISBN 0-900549-83-1 , p. 39.
- ↑ The Tickford factory became Aston Martin's headquarters in the second half of the 1950s.
- ↑ List of changes to the wide series on the website www.db-lagonda.com (accessed May 12, 2015).
- ↑ Günther Zink: Oldtimer Catalog (No. 24). Heel Verlag 2010. ISBN 978-3-86852-185-6 , p. 202.
- ^ A b Andrew Whyte: The Aston Martin and Lagonda. Volume 1: Six-cylinder DB models. Motor Racing Publications, London 1984, ISBN 0-900549-83-1 , p. 40.
- ↑ a b Production data on the website www.db-lagonda.com (accessed on June 16, 2015).
- ↑ a b Rainer Schlegelmilch, Hartmut Lehbrinck, Jochen von Osterroth: Aston Martin . Verlag Könemann 2005. ISBN 3-8331-1058-9 , p. 202.
- ↑ Andrew Whyte: The Aston Martin and Lagonda. Volume 1: Six-cylinder DB models. Motor Racing Publications, London 1984, ISBN 0-900549-83-1 , p. 38.