A Brief History
Aston Martin revived the dormant Lagonda name in 1961 with the luxurious Rapide four-door saloon, a car that was very much David Brown's personal project. The Rapide's sales brochure, which, unusually, was signed by him personally, stated: 'It has long been my ambition to build a car which would be equally suitable to drive or be driven in...'
Beneath the Superleggera aluminium coachwork by Touring of Milan was a lengthened DB4 chassis reconfigured by Harold Beach to accept De Dion rear suspension, the adoption of which allowed rear compartment space to be maximised. Powered by a 4.0-litre (236bhp) version of the DB4's twin-cam six that would later power the DB5, the Rapide certainly lived up to its name with brisk acceleration and a 130mph-plus top speed. Dual circuit, servo assisted disc brakes restrained this excellent performance, while interior fittings included electric windows, picnic tables to the rear, filler cap remote opening, and radio as standard.
Heavy (1,715kg), expensive (£4,950) and available only to special order, a meager 55 cars were built before production ceased in 1964.
source: bonhams.com
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