The Lagonda V-12 was the last great expression of W O Bentley's genius - a refined, powerful cruiser that beat the Rolls-Royce-built Derby Bentleys at their own game. A strange choice for a Le Mans challenger, then, but that's exactly what Lagonda did in 1939 with a pair of specially developed cars that took third and fourth place overall at the great endurance race. Less known even in Lagonda circles is the Lancefield-bodied coupé that was built around the same time using a spare Le Mans-specification engine.
Built as a rival to the Embiricos Bentley and stylistically almost an absolute carbon-copy of that car, the V-12 actually outperformed the Bentley, notching up a 120mph run at Brooklands just before the outbreak of war. Sadly, unlike the famous Embiricos car, the Lagonda has languished in semi-obscurity for decades before going on show at the Louwman Museum in The Hague. The Automobile magazine have looked into the car's untold story, and the results are presented in the March issue, which is out now.