Lagonda Rapiers

3 minute(s) of a 484 minute read

It goes without saying, these cars have nothing to do what so ever with the 1950/60 Rootes Group produced "Sunbean Rapiers" which were in effect a tarted up Hillman Minx.

Hi Steve

You never know where I will pop up next. I thought that my all too frequent mentions of the Rapier on my "other" thread was becoming too distracting. Don't knock MG TA,s I was out with a friend in one last night. Going to a VSCC meeting. While I have owned several MGs I would never consider myself a MG enthusiast.

Bernie J.

Not all Lagonda Rapiers were open sports cars. This one is an ultra rare four seat "four light" Saloon. The very British term "four light" does not refer to the number of headlamps but the number of side windows i.e. two each side= 4.

It was one of the original shipment of seven cars (Five bare chassis frames) to Australia in 1934. It is one of two (both surviving) saloon (sedan) bodies built by the Supreme Coachbuilding Co in Nth Melbourne. It was repainted black in the 1930s and still wears the same paint. You can just see traces of the red pin-striping. Its interior trim is completely original. Its present owner has had the car since the 1950s. All seven of this original shipment still survive. In fact only one Rapier of the 21 imported into Australia has disappeared. It was stolen from outside a hotel in 1949 and despite being reported as "recovered" in 1950 in the Police records it has never been seen since.

12-11-2011

Hi 

This one is for Michael Rohrmoser (Austria) if he looks in. It is a 1936 Rapier with a Ranalah Drop Head Coupe body. I rebuilt it in the early 1990s. When last heard of in 2007 the then owner had recently passed away, it was then in France, prior to that it had been in Austria between 1997 and 2005. It has dropped out of the Rapier Register and it would be nice to know where it is now. Its English Registration was YS 8375.

Bernie J.