01
Origins
The 2.6-Litre of 1948 was the first Lagonda of the David Brown era, and its importance lies under the bonnet: the new twin-overhead-camshaft straight-six that W.O. Bentley's team had designed during the war. The car around it was advanced too — cruciform chassis, all-independent suspension, rack-and-pinion steering — but heavy coachbuilt bodywork and austerity-era prices kept sales painfully small. The engine, though, was a masterpiece in waiting. David Brown had bought Lagonda largely to get it, and installed it in his other purchase's new sports car: the Aston Martin DB2. As the family grew to 3, then 3.7, then 4 litres, it powered every great Aston of the DB era. The stately 2.6-Litre saloon thus fathered some of the fastest cars of the 1950s — history's least likely parent.
Lagonda 2-6litre DHC side · Redsimon · CC BY 3.0
