Lagonda
M45R Fox & Nicholl team cars

Why it matters

Fox & Nicholl built three special 4.5-litre Lagondas in 1934 with factory co-operation for the RAC Tourist Trophy, after a supercharger ban kept their Alfa Romeos out. One of them won the 1935 Le Mans 24 Hours outright.

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 three cars, registered BPK 201, 202 and 203, were built in summer 1934 and prepared at Arthur Fox's works on the Kingston by-pass. They were bright red with four-seater bodies, rounded tails with a central fin and a large petrol tank hidden in the tail. At the 1934 Tourist Trophy they finished fourth, fifth and eighth with Lewis, Hindmarsh and Cobb.

In 1935 BPK 202 won Le Mans and BPK 203 finished 13th after gearbox trouble; BPK 201 and BPK 202 later ran the 1935 Tourist Trophy. Motor Sport says the three cars made seven entries in two seasons and finished every time. They were sold in 1936 and all three still existed in 1972, with their original racing bodies.

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.

Identification guide

How to tell an original from a replica or later conversion.

Motor Sport (1972) records engine numbers M45/269, M45/270 and M45/271 for the three cars. The engines of BPK 201 and BPK 202 were swapped at some point, while BPK 203 retains its own. BPK 202 now has a different Lagonda gearbox from the original and BPK 203 an Alvis box. The two cars that ran in the 1935 Tourist Trophy, BPK 201 and 202, have louvred bonnet tops and BPK 203 retains its unlouvred 1934 top. Chalked "203" on the plywood panel base and "203" stamped under the bonnet boards helped identify BPK 203.

Sources

Each number links to the exact facts it supports.

1. 1
   The 1934 Fox and Nicholl Lagondas Level B Motor Sport Magazine · 1972-03

   • a team of three special Lagondas
   • all three still exist, in full working order
   • specification sheet published by Henry Meadows Ltd. gives the bore at 85 mm and the stroke at 120 mm, with a capacity of 4,467 c.c.
   • cylinder bore was 85 mm
   • stroke at 120 mm
   • Measuring BPK 203 ... I made it also 10 ft. 3 in.

   Accessed 2026-11-12
2. 2
   Motor Sport, March 1972 – The 1934 Fox and Nicholl Lagondas Level C

   • 3 team cars built for 1934 ("The three cars were constructed in the summer of 1934")

   Accessed 2026-11-12
3. 3
   Lagonda's Le Mans upset (1935) Level B Motor Sport Magazine · 2023-05

   • good for 140bhp at 3600rpm in tweaked form
   • 140bhp at 3600rpm
   • a car that weighed over 1500kg

   Accessed 2026-11-12
4. 4
   1937 Lagonda LG45 Rapide (Lagonda profile) Level B Conceptcarz

   • highly tuned engines, Girling drum brakes, and short chassis

   Accessed 2026-11-12