Story by Peter Darnall
“Please don’t call this car a replica. It’s a Lagonda!”
‘Lagonda Joe’ Harding was describing his 1939 red Lagonda Le Mans sports racing machine recently. Joe earned the nickname ‘Lagonda Joe’ years ago for his involvement with both the creation and the racing of these unique Lagonda machines in England. He makes an interesting point: The word “replica” conjures up mental images of shoddy fiberglass contraptions or of clandestine attempts to convert an automotive sow’s ear into a silk purse. These Le Mans Specials are, as Joe stressed, Lagondas to the core. They were built on a production chassis and used period-correct Lagonda components—which is exactly what the Lagonda factory did when they made the original Le Mans specials in 1939.