1953 Lagonda 2.6L

The Lagonda 2.6-Litre was a four/five-seater, front-engine, rear-wheel-drive grand tourers available in four-door saloon, two-door convertible or two-door coupe forms. It was made between 1948 and 1953 and was the first Lagonda to be introduced after the company was acquired by David Brown in 1947. It was this takeover that provided the funds for the W.O. Bentley 2.6-Litre’s design to enter production.

One of the most notable features of the Lagonda 2.6 when it was launched at the 1948 London Motor Show, was the twin-cam engine. The specification included all-round independent suspension - very unusual for a British car of that era – with front coil springs and dual wishbones and rear torsion bars with a hypoid axle, all-drum brakes and rack-and-pinion steering. The aluminium body panels attached to an ash frame on a cruciform X-frame chassis and prototypes of the 2.6-Litre were fitted with Cotal electro-magnetic gears. When full production commenced in 1949, there was a more conventional steering column change for transmission shared with the Aston Martin DB2.

In 1949, the 2.6-Litre was available in Tickford-bodied drophead form; the Newport Pagnell firm would progressively take over Lagonda production. A few chassis were supplied to other coachbuilders. From late 1953, the Lagonda was made in Mk II saloon form with a slightly modified saloon body, a more powerful engine with 125bhp and a “Jackall” four-wheel jacking system as standard. The final 16 chassis of the Lagonda 2.6-Litre Mk II was acquired by the dealer Brooklands of Bond Street and made in convertible or coupe form by Tickfords. This coachwork so impressed Aston Martin that it was adopted for their 3-Litre drophead and the earlier cars became retrospectively known as the ‘2.6/3.0 Brooklands’. Mk II production ended in 1953.

The Lagonda 2.6-Litre is powered by a 2,580cc S6 DOHC engine with twin SU carburettors married to an all-synchromesh four-speed gearbox.

The 2.6-Litre is not especially fast by the standards of the day due to its heavy weight, but it combines magnificent running gear - shared with the Aston Martin DB2 – with standards of luxury that are the equal to any British coachbuilt car of the same period. The Mk II saloon is very rare while the convertibles – especially the Brooklands – inevitably command very high prices.

Over the decades, many Lagondas lost their engines and gearboxes to restore Aston Martin DBs so checking numbers is a must. Meanwhile the sills and the chassis must be inspected for corrosion. A poor ash frame will prove to be very expensive to repair or rebuild, and the A-posts and wooden roof members should be checked for signs of deterioration.

Alternatives to the Lagonda 2.6-Litre include the Alvis TA21, the Bentley Mark VI, the Daimler DB18, the Jaguar Mk V and Mk VII, and the Riley RMB.