Rare Lanchester at Bungendore
I spotted this Lanchester Leda at Bungendore on a recent visit (October 2013).
The beautiful old girl is looking for a new home.
The Leda was an interesting, and considerably more expensive, counterpoint to Holden's 48-215. Built in 1951 and essentially a four cylinder version
of the Daimler Conquest, the Leda is the steel-bodied development of the otherwise identical Lanchester 14 which was constructed on a wooden frame.
Steel was at a premium in post-war Britain hence the decision to use aluminium for Land Rovers and for the first of the Jaguar XK120s... and the reliance on structural timber in cars such as the Morgan and the Lanchester.
The Leda switched to a full pressed steel body in 1952 once the factory space that had been destroyed in the German aerial blitz of a decade before was rebuilt.
Slightly larger, but not a great deal more spacious, than the Holden ``humpy'', the Leda suffered in the performance stakes.
It came with a 1968cc four cylinder engine that produced about 60 horsepower. This was less than an FX/FJ ``grey motor'' and with less torque and a heavier body. While the UK's Thoroughbred and Classic Cars claims a top speed of 75mph (almost 130km/h) for the Leda I suspect this must have involved a mineshaft. The Leda's sister car, the 1953 Daimler Conquest, was fitted with a six cylinder, 2.4 litre version of essentially the same engine design. Armed with a heady 75bhp (56kw) - or 25 per cent than the Leda - the first Conquest maxed out at 81mph (132km/h). The later ``Century'' version of the Conquest, which had 100bhp under its stylish alligator hood, ran out of puff at just over 90mph (145km/h). Daimler claimed 100mph (160km/h) but no tester was ever able to duplicate this result.
Ledas and Conquests were solid and well-built cars, the Toyota Cressidas if you like of their day.
They ranged in weight from 1300kg (Leda) to 1400kg (Conquest) and, as you would expect, the Leda was the less expensive of the two. Its launch price was 895 pounds plus a 50 per cent purchase tax that took it up to 1342 pounds. When the Conquest was released in 1953 its asking price was 1066 pounds (the year of the Norman Conquest) and, with tax, the ``drive-away, no-more-to-pay'' would have been well over 1600 pounds.
No major changes were made to the Leda body for the Conquest. Both models were built on a 2.64m wheelbase, were just under 4.5 metres long and were 1.65 metres tall. Headroom was not a problem.
The Leda/Daimler twins never sold in the same quantities as their close rivals, the Rover P4 series cars which still look surprisingly modern despite their ``suicide'' rear doors. The Rover 60, which came with the two-litre, 60bhp four cylinder that also saw service in the Land Rover, cost 1325 pounds with purchase tax in 1958 (or almost exactly the same as the Lanchester Leda had cost five years before). The Rover 90 cost 1499 pounds with sales tax, almost exactly the same as the Conquest Century.
Pitched directly at a snobbish British upper middle class that did not want to be seen in the Austins, Morrises, Fords and Vauxhalls their upwardly mobile social inferiors were lining up to buy, the Lanchester and the Daimler offered pedigree and, in the case of the latter, Royal patronage.
The Leda was the last in a line of magnificent cars brought into being by Frederick Lanchester. The Birmingham-based manufacturer built his first two-cylinder in 1901, four cylinder in 1904 and six cylinder in 1906.
His 38 Horsepower of 1911 was compared, not unfavourably, with the much larger engined Rolls Royce Silver Ghost that was in production from 1906 until 1925.
With a top speed well in excess of 100km/h, the 38 Horsepower was actually faster than all but the most lightly bodied and sporting Ghosts.
The BSA/Daimler Group took Lanchester over in 1931 and all the cars from then on, like the Leda, were variations on the Daimler theme.
The Leda's major technical innovation was its use of a laminated torsion bar, double wishbone front suspension that delivered surprisingly good roadholding for the period.
What's it worth?
The Bungendore Leda (and a spare car) is apparently on the market.
Concours versions, which this isn't, are currently listed for sale at about 6,500 pounds in the UK. This is also what an excellent Daimler Conquest commands. In the rough a Leda is worth about 1600 quid compared to 700 for a tired Conquest. I suggest the premium for the less powerful and less sumptuously equipped Lanchester reflects its relative scarcity compared to the Daimler.
Rover P4s circulate in the same price band on the UK market (with tired examples down to about 500 pounds).
A scarce car is always going to be worth more in the rough than a popular one as in the case of the best seller it is always possible to shop around for a better example.
With just five Lanchesters in Australia the ultimate value of the Bungendore cars will be determined by whatever someone is prepared to pay.
If I had to guess, and without having seen the other car, I would say between $3,000 and $5,000 for the pair would be a good offer.
The beautiful old girl is looking for a new home.
The Leda was an interesting, and considerably more expensive, counterpoint to Holden's 48-215. Built in 1951 and essentially a four cylinder version
of the Daimler Conquest, the Leda is the steel-bodied development of the otherwise identical Lanchester 14 which was constructed on a wooden frame.
Steel was at a premium in post-war Britain hence the decision to use aluminium for Land Rovers and for the first of the Jaguar XK120s... and the reliance on structural timber in cars such as the Morgan and the Lanchester.
The Leda switched to a full pressed steel body in 1952 once the factory space that had been destroyed in the German aerial blitz of a decade before was rebuilt.
Slightly larger, but not a great deal more spacious, than the Holden ``humpy'', the Leda suffered in the performance stakes.
It came with a 1968cc four cylinder engine that produced about 60 horsepower. This was less than an FX/FJ ``grey motor'' and with less torque and a heavier body. While the UK's Thoroughbred and Classic Cars claims a top speed of 75mph (almost 130km/h) for the Leda I suspect this must have involved a mineshaft. The Leda's sister car, the 1953 Daimler Conquest, was fitted with a six cylinder, 2.4 litre version of essentially the same engine design. Armed with a heady 75bhp (56kw) - or 25 per cent than the Leda - the first Conquest maxed out at 81mph (132km/h). The later ``Century'' version of the Conquest, which had 100bhp under its stylish alligator hood, ran out of puff at just over 90mph (145km/h). Daimler claimed 100mph (160km/h) but no tester was ever able to duplicate this result.
Ledas and Conquests were solid and well-built cars, the Toyota Cressidas if you like of their day.
They ranged in weight from 1300kg (Leda) to 1400kg (Conquest) and, as you would expect, the Leda was the less expensive of the two. Its launch price was 895 pounds plus a 50 per cent purchase tax that took it up to 1342 pounds. When the Conquest was released in 1953 its asking price was 1066 pounds (the year of the Norman Conquest) and, with tax, the ``drive-away, no-more-to-pay'' would have been well over 1600 pounds.
No major changes were made to the Leda body for the Conquest. Both models were built on a 2.64m wheelbase, were just under 4.5 metres long and were 1.65 metres tall. Headroom was not a problem.
The Leda/Daimler twins never sold in the same quantities as their close rivals, the Rover P4 series cars which still look surprisingly modern despite their ``suicide'' rear doors. The Rover 60, which came with the two-litre, 60bhp four cylinder that also saw service in the Land Rover, cost 1325 pounds with purchase tax in 1958 (or almost exactly the same as the Lanchester Leda had cost five years before). The Rover 90 cost 1499 pounds with sales tax, almost exactly the same as the Conquest Century.
Pitched directly at a snobbish British upper middle class that did not want to be seen in the Austins, Morrises, Fords and Vauxhalls their upwardly mobile social inferiors were lining up to buy, the Lanchester and the Daimler offered pedigree and, in the case of the latter, Royal patronage.
The Leda was the last in a line of magnificent cars brought into being by Frederick Lanchester. The Birmingham-based manufacturer built his first two-cylinder in 1901, four cylinder in 1904 and six cylinder in 1906.
His 38 Horsepower of 1911 was compared, not unfavourably, with the much larger engined Rolls Royce Silver Ghost that was in production from 1906 until 1925.
With a top speed well in excess of 100km/h, the 38 Horsepower was actually faster than all but the most lightly bodied and sporting Ghosts.
The BSA/Daimler Group took Lanchester over in 1931 and all the cars from then on, like the Leda, were variations on the Daimler theme.
The Leda's major technical innovation was its use of a laminated torsion bar, double wishbone front suspension that delivered surprisingly good roadholding for the period.
What's it worth?
The Bungendore Leda (and a spare car) is apparently on the market.
Concours versions, which this isn't, are currently listed for sale at about 6,500 pounds in the UK. This is also what an excellent Daimler Conquest commands. In the rough a Leda is worth about 1600 quid compared to 700 for a tired Conquest. I suggest the premium for the less powerful and less sumptuously equipped Lanchester reflects its relative scarcity compared to the Daimler.
Rover P4s circulate in the same price band on the UK market (with tired examples down to about 500 pounds).
A scarce car is always going to be worth more in the rough than a popular one as in the case of the best seller it is always possible to shop around for a better example.
With just five Lanchesters in Australia the ultimate value of the Bungendore cars will be determined by whatever someone is prepared to pay.
If I had to guess, and without having seen the other car, I would say between $3,000 and $5,000 for the pair would be a good offer.