Lagonda

Founded in 1906 in Staines, near London, by the American Wilbur Gunn, Lagonda belongs to that aristocracy of British marques that lit up the pre-war 24 Hours of Le Mans. Its 1935 victory, won in dramatic circumstances for the company, remains one of the most singular in the race's history. That year, the marque was going through a grave financial crisis — it was placed in receivership at the very moment its cars were preparing to race at La Sarthe. On the track, however, the M45R Rapide, powered by a rugged 4.5-litre six-cylinder engine and entered by the Fox & Nicholl team, defied every prediction. Johnny Hindmarsh and Luis Fontes held off the pack and won outright, ending the reign of the great continental marques and giving Britain its first Le Mans victory since the Bentley era. The triumph symbolically saved the marque: Lagonda was promptly bought by businessman Alan Good, who secured the services of a certain W.O. Bentley as technical director — Bentley's founder would go on to design the superb Lagonda V12 that shone again at La Sarthe in 1939. The post-war years sealed the marque's destiny: bought in 1947 by industrialist David Brown along with Aston Martin, Lagonda saw its name joined to its new sister's within Aston Martin Lagonda. The name would survive intermittently on grand luxury saloons, including the avant-garde Lagonda of the 1970s, without ever returning to competition. The 1935 victory shines all the brighter for it: that of a marque on the brink, saved by an enduring racing car and two inspired drivers. In the pantheon of Le Mans winners, Lagonda forever embodies the British panache of the 1930s — and one of history's finest ripostes to industrial adversity. Today, the M45R Rapide remains a treasured sight at historic events, a rolling reminder of the year a struggling British marque conquered La Sarthe.

• Country : GBR
• Founded : 1906
• Le Mans wins : 1
• First win : 1935
• Last win : 1935