M45 Saloon "Olympia Exhibition Car"

Sylvester Earl Harvin

8 November 2012 at 12:35 #49820

Hello all, I’m new to the forum.
I’ve had the pleasure recently of being around some lovely pre-war Lagondas, and felt the need to expand my knowledge about these fine motorcars.
Last week I came across this M45 Sports Saloon, which claims to have been one of the Olympia Exhibition cars. Story has it that it was purchased new by a British diplomat dispatched to Germany, and the car remained here in Germany ever since. The coachwork is said to be by John Charles Ltd.
Does anyone happen to know more about the history of this car? Seems to be very interesting.

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Barry Brown

8 November 2012 at 13:22 #49821

Whatever it is I love it!

Sylvester Earl Harvin

8 November 2012 at 16:42 #49823

It is lovely isn’t it… a few more pics sorry for poor quality.

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h14

8 November 2012 at 20:29 #49825

Seems to have a V12 rev counter!

Peter S30

9 November 2012 at 13:28 #49832

I remember that I received an email in July this year that this car was for sale for 118k EUR and you can see it here: http://www.klassiker-handel.de/fahrzeuge/lagonda-m45-sportssaloon/
It has an interesting and what I understand original body but I also must say that most Lagonda factory bodies look at least as nice as the coachbuilt ones

h14

9 November 2012 at 14:53 #49834

Hi Peter,
You echo my sentiments, I’ve yet to see an alternative coachbuilder’s body that competes with Lagonda’s (ie Frank Feeley’s) own. This one is interesting but perhaps too fussy for my taste.
That said, I quite like the V12 tourer by (I think) Vanden Plas, which I believe still survives in America, much better than Lagonda’s unsurprisingly rare tourer offering on the V12/LG6 chassis.
But of course they were different times. The non-Lagonda coachwork purchaser presumably wanted, perhaps for that very reason, something different to the factory offerings. That still doesn’t explain why some truly gruesome and staid formal bodies were built on one of the period’s most advanced and fastest chassis!
Laurence

Sylvester Earl Harvin

9 November 2012 at 17:09 #49835

Peter, you’re right the car was up in Hamburg, but now it is in Berlin being offered by Jaguar Gro?. Same price as I recall.

I believe that it’s passed through the hands of a few German dealers over the last year or so, I’m surprised there hasn’t been more interest.

I think it’s a nice example with interesting history if the story is correct.

Their price seems a tad optimistic… though having said that a comparable special bodied sports saloon with history by some other marques often command quite a bit more.