Lagonda's luxury six

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Any sports and luxury car maker worth its salt in the early 1930s knew that, in order to stay competitive, it needed to offer a strong six-cylinder. Lagonda was slightly late in coming to that realisation, so the 16/80 model of 1932 was the product of some quick-thinking.

The chassis could trace its lineage back to 1925, with the launch of the 14/60. That evolved into the Two Litre Speed Model, and finally into the short-lived and unsuccessful Two Litre Continental. The Continental chassis lived on unchanged as the platform for the 16/80, while Lagonda found that Crossley would be prepared to supply it with a suitable six of two-litre capacity. Once it went on sale, available as a four-seater, Vanden Plas two-seater or Weymann panelled saloon, it was an instant hit, with reviewers praising its rapid acceleration and improved gearbox.

To come across a surviving saloon is quite a coup, partly because of their rarity and partly because they look so brilliantly rakish. This particular 1933 example is one of the best of them, having been rescued from chicken coop duties in 1964 and subjected to a restoration that has been allowed to mature in the best Oily Rag spirit.

Zack Stiling looks into the 16/80 and discovers the story behind this one’s lucky survival in the April issue of The Automobile, available now.

Words by Zack Stiling. Photographs by Stefan Marjoram.

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