Lagonda 3-Litre

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Lagonda 3-Litre
Manufacturer Aston Martin Lagonda
Production 1953–1958
270 produced
Predecessor Lagonda 2.6-Litre
Successor Lagonda Rapide
Class Luxury car
Body style(s) 2-door 4-seat saloon
4-door 4-seat saloon
2-door 4-seat convertible
Engine(s) 2.9 L Lagonda I6
Wheelbase 113 inches (2.87 m)
Length 196 inches (4.98 m)
Width 69 inches (1.75 m)

The second Lagonda of the David Brown/Aston Martin era was the 1953 3-Litre. It used a higher displacement 2.9 L version of the Lagonda Straight-6 engine which was designed by Walter Owen Bentley.

Like its predecessor, the 3-Litre was a 4-seat car, but only a 2-door closed coupé, built by David Brown subsidiary engineering company Tickford[1] or convertible "Drophead Coupé" models built by Swiss coach builders Hermann Graber[1] were offered initially. A 4-door saloon, appeared in 1954 and the 2-door closed car was dropped soon after. That same year, a Mark II version introduced a floor-mounted shift lever.

The 3-Litre was more expensive than its competitors and just 270 of both bodystyles were sold. The convertible ended production in 1957, with the saloon following one year later. The Lagonda Rapide of 1961 was a final attempt to revive the Lagonda name as a luxury saloon counterpart to Aston Martin's GT cars.

[edit] Sources and further reading

  1. ^ a b Gloor, Roger (1. Auflage 2007). Alle Autos der 50er Jahre 1945 - 1960. Stuttgart: Motorbuch Verlag. ISBN 978-3-613-02808-1.