Lagonda Rapide (1961 – 1964) Review

Lagonda Rapide (1961 – 1964) At A Glance

4/5

+Like a DB4, but with more room and four doors

-Not conventionally beautiful like the car it was based on

The Lagonda Rapid was basically an enlarged Aston Martin DB4 - almost a four-door coupe, a genre that has become popular during the 2000s. From the front wheels back, Lagonda’s 1961 to 1964 Rapide was a handsome and dignified machine. Unfortunately, ahead of that, it was also visually shocking thanks to a sloped quad-headlamp nose and outlandish grilles.

Given that it was designed by Touring this look wasn't conventionally stylish in the way the DB4 was, and no doubt contributed to only 55 of these fabulous saloons being built. The car used an elongated DB4 chassis, with suspension tweaks, and a 236bhp 4-litre six-cylinder engine that wouldn’t make it to the Aston Martin range until the arrival of the DB5 three years later.