A 1935 Lagonda M45 T8 Tourer that hasn't seen the light of day for years and is thought to be one of only 10 survivors has re-emerged.
The car has a rich history having been owned by racer Walter 'Wal' Handley in the 1930s, Handley was due to drive a Lagonda at Le Mans in 1928 but is better known for four Isle of Man TT class wins – subsequently having a corner on the Manx course named after him – co-driving with Freddie Dixon and piloting an Alfa Romeo 8V 2300, MG K3 and various Rileys among others.
After Handley died in a WW2 aircraft crash the car was known to have been raced at Silverstone by Ron Newman in the 1950s before passing to marque expert and current Lagonda Club president David Hine in the early 1960s.
In his five years of ownership Hine replaced the engine with an LG45 unit sourced from Gardner Diesels and improved the car generally before it passed to its current ownership in 1967 for £969 18s 0d before being consigned to storage.
One of the interesting facets of the car's history – apart from BLP 494 featuring in a period greetings card – was that it was returned to the factory in 1937 where it received modifications to the tail and Rapide exhausts.
