If you’ve ever dreamed of assembling your own racing team, Bonhams is offering the opportunity, although each of the cars is 92 years old.
An entire team of classic British race cars – four 1929 Lagondas that competed in a series of endurance events – will be auctioned September 18 by Bonhams during its Goodwood Revival Sale at the West Sussex Motor Circuit.
The Lagonda 2.0-liter Low Chassis Tourers, in consecutive registration numbers from PK 9201 to PK 9204 and reunited a half century ago as part of a single-owner collection, are being sold individually at Goodwood.
Lagonda is one of the greatest sporting brands of the pre-war era, and this team was “originally owned by a syndicate of Hertfordshire enthusiasts and run by Fox & Nicholl, the Lagonda main dealer in Tolworth Surrey, in the 1929 racing season,” Bonhams says in a news release.
“The team made a mark on their debut outing at the grueling Brooklands Double Twelve endurance race, placing second, third and sixth in their class,” according to the news release. “Later in the season, the quartet campaigned in BARC Six-hour race and the Tourist Trophy, where PK 9202 finished 9th overall, leading the Lagondas to win the Team Prize and Mobiloil cup.
“One of the four, PK 9203, even entered the Le Mans 24 Hours, with Tim Rose Richards and the Hon Brian Ellis at the wheel.”
After their year of racing, the four Lagondas were sold off to various owners, but they were brought back together in the late 1960s and early ’70s by the late Capt. Ivan Forshaw and his son, Richard, Bonhams said. “Captain Forshaw made his name as a Lagonda specialist in the 1930s and would later establish Aston Service Dorset.”
“All four Tourers were restored in the 1990s and then kept under covers in the Poole showroom, only taken out for shows such as the Century Display at Brooklands,” the release says. “They are currently being recommissioned for the road.”
Three of the Lagondas have pre-auction estimated values of £200,000 to £300,000 ($275,270 to $412,910) each, while PK 9203 has a higher estimate, at £300,000 to £400,000 ($412,910 to $550,550).
“We are delighted to offer this collection which was the particular pride and joy of Captain Forshaw, a lifelong Lagonda enthusiast,” said Tim Schofield, head of Bonhams Motor Cars UK. “This is a unique opportunity to acquire an entire racing team from the golden era.
“With their racing pedigree, we hope to see at least one of the four on track at next year’s Revival.”
For more information about the Goodwood auction, visit the Bonhams website.
