140 bhp, 4,453 cc inline six-cylinder engine, dual SU carburettors, four-speed manual gearbox, independent front suspension with torsion bar and wishbone front suspension, semi-elliptic leaf-spring rear suspension mounted outside frame, and four-wheel hydraulic drum brakes with dual master cylinders. Wheelbase: 127.5"

- One of only 63 LG6s built between 1937 and 1939, of which about 50 are known to exist today

- W.O. Bentley’s masterpiece with elegant open coachwork

- Nicely presented restoration, new interior in 2005, engine more-recently rebuilt

Introduced in mid-September 1933, the 4½-Litre Lagondas, known as M45s, along with the higher-performance M45R Rapide, were the largest sports cars made in England and had few equals in terms of performance. Almost immediately, 4½-Litre Lagondas achieved racing success, including the Le Mans-winning Fox and Nicholl team cars of 1935, followed by a class victory at the 1936 French Grand Prix and the achievement of a 104.4-mph average over a timed hour at Brooklands in 1937.

In the summer of 1935, W.O. Bentley left Rolls-Royce and joined Lagonda as Technical Director. He quickly worked his magic on the 4½-Litre with great effect, gradually shifting the marque’s design emphasis to the high-performance luxury-car class. The LG45 was far more refined than its predecessors were, and by 1937/1938, the 4½-Litre reached its development peak. The LG6 and its stable-mate, the Lagonda V12, launched at the London Motor Show and entered production in early 1938. With elegant Frank Feeley-designed bodies, independent front suspension and 100 mph top-speed potential, the LG6 attracted great acclaim. According to The Motor, “Such performance is rendered usable by a superb suspension system…In town there is all the softness of the town carriage, but a flick of the steering-wheel shock-absorber control enables the car to be driven round corners at really high speeds in the manner of a thoroughbred sports model.”

Just 63 Lagonda LG6s were built between 1937 and 1939, and only about 50 are known to exist today. About half of the production total is believed to have been Drophead Coupés, rendering this car an extremely rare example of these sophisticated pre-war English sporting tourers.

While the first owner of this late-production LG6 Drophead Coupé from 1939 (chassis 12368) remains unknown, the Lagonda Club confirms that a Mr. S.L. Thigpen of Carmel, California owned it during the late 1960s. It returned to the UK at some point prior to 1991, when Coys in London offered it for sale. In March 1992, the car passed to a recognised Austrian collector, who kept the Lagonda in his private collection where it was regarded as his best car. In 2005, the current owner, who commissioned a new beige leather interior and, more recently, an engine rebuild, acquired the LG6. The car is handsomely finished in dark green over black with good chrome and brightwork. A history file details all the recent work carried out on the car.

Despite being an older restoration, this extremely rare LG6 is offered today in good running order with matching numbers. It is, quite simply, a lovely example of one of W.O. Bentley’s finest and most enduring masterpieces.