Lagonda M45 / M45R Rapide History
Catalog record
This is a brief catalog introduction with limited source documentation. A licensed, identity-checked lead photograph has not yet been added for this page. Detailed year, configuration and ownership coverage must be identified separately; this page is not a complete vehicle catalog.
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Introduced at the 1933 Olympia Motor Show, the M45 used a 4,467 cc six-cylinder Meadows engine capable of pushing the open tourer close to 100 mph — a genuine performance claim for a British road car of the era. Fox & Nicholl, Lagonda's competition agents, prepared short-chassis cars for the 1934 RAC Tourist Trophy, finishing fourth, fifth, and eighth.
The competition derivative M45R Rapide scored a celebrated if controversial outright victory at the 1935 24 Hours of Le Mans, driven by John Hindmarsh and Luis Fontes — the only Le Mans outright win in Lagonda's history. The win came just as the company's finances collapsed; the receiver was called in that same year, the firm was bought by Alan P. Good (who outbid Rolls-Royce), and he brought in W. O. Bentley as chief designer.
Approximately 53 M45R Rapides were built. The M45 itself ran from 1933 through 1936 in regular production, with the Rapide variant closely associated with the 1934–35 period.
Body styles
- Tourer
- Saloon
- Drophead coupe
Notable special editions & performance variants
M45R Rapide
Short-chassis competition variant with tuned Meadows engine and Girling brakes; winner of the 1935 24 Hours of Le Mans; approximately 53 built.
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