Aston Martin and Lagonda

To many people today the names Aston Martin and Lagonda are near enough one, and indeed, since the return of peace after the Second World War, the companies have been so inextricably mixed as to render it hard for anyone whose motoring experience does not go back to the thirties, to realise that things have not always been thus. Of the two companies Lagonda is the older having been founded in 1899 by Wilbur Gunn, while Aston Martin evolved from a Trials Special built just before the First World War. It was the acquisition by David Brown just after World War Two which brought them together. Michael Frostick and some 375 photographs show the develop¬ment of the modern Aston Martin up to the DBS V8 from its sporting antecedents, the side valve and international models - and the prototype Lagonda ‘wedge’ from 1977, a world apart from the 1905 three wheel forecar. Also in¬cluded are some photographs of the little known Lagonda 20 hp cars which were mainly supplied to Russia before World War One. The use of cars in competition for both marques is also covered with photographs from events such as Le Mans and the Mille Miglia.