Lagonda
LG45R Rapide team cars

Why it matters

For 1936 Fox & Nicholl, the semi-official Lagonda racing team, received four competition cars built on the new LG45 chassis, intended to promote the model that took Lagonda into the luxury car market under W.O. Bentley.

How rare is it?

Six separate kinds of rarity – never combined into one number.

Each kind of rarity is rated separately and never combined.

Production

Every figure says what it counts.

Independent counts (e.g. engine and colour) are never combined into a calculated figure. Surviving examples are never presented as original production.

History

The four cars comprised two four-seaters bodied to Le Mans rules and two two-seaters. They debuted at the 1936 French Grand Prix at Montlhéry on 28 June 1936. Chassis 12111, registered EPE 97, retired there and later ran in the 1936 and 1937 Tourist Trophy, the 1936 Brooklands 500 Mile race (3rd) and the 1937 Le Mans 24 Hours (retired). A sister car, HLL 534, is reported to have won its class in what seems to have been its only race.

In 1936 EPE 97 was lent to Alan Hess, who set a one-hour sports car record of 104.4 mph at Brooklands in full touring trim, reported to make it the fastest production-type car in Britain. After the war it was lowered by ten inches by Joe Goodhew and raced into the 1950s.

Technical specifications

Engine

Transmission & drivetrain

Chassis, body & dimensions

Performance

“Not yet verified” means no source has been checked for that value yet. Nothing is estimated to fill a gap.

Sources

Each number links to the exact facts it supports.

1. 1
   Ultimatecarpage – Lagonda LG45 Rapide Team Car, chassis 12111 Level C

   • 4 Fox & Nicholl team cars ('One of four Team Cars built by Fox & Nicholl for Lagonda'; two two-seaters, two four-seaters)

   Accessed 2026-11-12
2. 2
   1936 Lagonda LG45R Rapide Level C Sports Car Market

   • overhead-valve 6-cylinder Meadows engine

   Accessed 2026-11-12