Roald Dahl's own Lagonda V12 came with custom horns that played a snatch of Mozart's Don Giovanni in perfect pitch.
Lead trim: V12 4.5 L SOHC-per-bank V12 (180 hp)
Lagonda V12V12 · 1938–1940
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Nobody in Burbles has spotted a Lagonda V12 yet. See one on the street, point the app at it, and the first card is yours — with your @handle permanently credited on this page.
FactRoald Dahl's own Lagonda V12 came with custom horns that played a snatch of Mozart's Don Giovanni in perfect pitch.
The Lagonda V12 is a large luxury car produced from 1938 to 1940 (189 built), first shown at the 1936 London Motor Show though production did not start until 1938; a V12 Rapide was the most expensive car at the 1939 New York Auto Show's 40th-anniversary show, at US$8,900. Its all-new 4,480 cc (4.5 L) 60-degree V12, designed during W. O. Bentley's tenure at Lagonda (likely by Stewart Tresilian, who had followed Bentley from Rolls-Royce), has a combined iron block and upper crankcase with a light-alloy lower crankcase, iron heads, a single chain-driven overhead camshaft per bank each with its own distributor, and twin downdraught SU carburettors between the blocks, producing 180 hp at 5,000 rpm through a centrally shifted four-speed gearbox. The new chassis had independent torsion-bar front suspension, a live rear axle with hypoid final drive and Lockheed hydraulic brakes, with a wheelbase of 124 in, 132 in or 138 in depending on coachwork (only ten built on the longest). Even with the heavy Saloon de Ville body it could reach 100 mph; Autocar recorded 103.45 mph around Brooklands for the short-chassis saloon in March 1938, and two four-carburettor race cars finished third and fourth at the 1939 24 Hours of Le Mans. Length typically 206 in (5,232 mm, varying with coachwork), width 72 in (1,829 mm).
Collectors Spotted in the Lagonda V12 Lineage
No member has published a public street spot of the Lagonda V12 yet — the First · Worldwide stamp is wide open.
Trims & Figures
One published trim in the catalogue. A blank is a figure not recorded, not zero.
| Trim | Years | Engine | Power | Torque | 0–60 | Drive | Gearbox | MSRP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| V12 4.5 L SOHC-per-bank V12 (180 hp) | 1938–1940 | 4.5 L V12 | 180 hp | — | — | — | — | — |
Owning one
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Owners’ builds
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Rivals
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