1959 Aston Martin Lagonda DBD engine in DB2-4 Mk III

The Lagonda Straight-6 is a famous

automobile A car or automobile is a motor vehicle with Wheel, wheels. Most definitions of ''cars'' say that they run primarily on roads, Car seat, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport private transport#Personal transport, pe ...

engine used by

Aston Martin Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings PLC is an English manufacturer of luxury sports cars and grand tourers. Its predecessor was founded in 1913 by Lionel Martin and Robert Bamford. Steered from 1947 by David Brown, it became associated with ...

and

Lagonda Lagonda is a British luxury car brand established in 1906, which has been owned by Aston Martin since 1947. The trade-name has not had a continuous commercial existence, being dormant several times, most recently from 1995 to 2008 and 2010 to 2 ...

marque A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that distinguishes one seller's good or service from those of other sellers. Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising for recognition and, importantly, to create an ...

s in the 1950s. Designed by Willie Watson under the supervision of

Walter Owen Bentley Walter Owen Bentley, MBE (16 September 1888 – 13 August 1971) was an English engineer who founded Bentley Motors Limited in London. He was a motorcycle and car racer as a young man. After making a name for himself as a designer of aircraft an ...

Bentley Motors Limited Bentley Motors Limited is a British designer, manufacturer and marketer of luxury cars and SUVs. Headquartered in Crewe, England, the company was founded as Bentley Motors Limited by W. O. Bentley (1888–1971) in 1919 in Cricklewood, North ...

, it vaulted Aston Martin to fame as a maker of desirable sports and racing cars.

History

Towards the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, W. O. Bentley began working on a new

straight-six engine The straight-six engine (also referred to as an inline-six engine; abbreviated I6 or L6) is a piston engine with six cylinders arranged in a straight line along the crankshaft. A straight-six engine has perfect primary and secondary engine bala ...

for the Lagonda marque. Bentley had taken a seat on Lagonda's board of directors when Alan Good bought and re-organized Lagonda in June 1935. Bentley had completed his obligatory three years term with former rival

Rolls-Royce Rolls-Royce (always hyphenated) may refer to: * Rolls-Royce Limited, a British manufacturer of cars and later aero engines, founded in 1906, now defunct Automobiles * Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, the current car manufacturing company incorporated in ...

following their 1931 acquisition of his former business. They had refused to return it to racing and had replaced many of his chassis and engine designs with their own. It was clear Lagonda's successful V12 would be seen as too extravagant for the postwar market. Bentley and his team developed a modern

dual overhead cam An overhead camshaft (OHC) engine is a piston engine where the camshaft is located in the cylinder head above the combustion chamber. This contrasts with earlier overhead valve engines (OHV), where the camshaft is located below the combustion c ...

straight-six engine. It initially displaced 2.6 L (2580 cc/157 in³) with a 78 mm (3.07 in) bore and 90 mm (3.543 in) stroke and produced roughly 105 hp (78 kW) with dual

SU carburettor SU carburettors were a British manufacturer of constant-depression carburettors. Their designs were in mass production during most of the twentieth century. The S.U. Carburetter Company Limited also manufactured dual-choke updraught carburetto ...

s. The Lagonda straight-6 caught the attention of David Brown, who had purchased Aston Martin in 1947. Aston's

Claude Hill Sir Claude Hamilton Archer Hill (1866 – 1934) was Lieutenant Governor of the Isle of Man. Career Educated at St Mark's School in Windsor and Emmanuel College, Cambridge, Hill joined the Indian Civil Service in 1887.

-designed

four-cylinder The engine configuration describes the fundamental operating principles by which internal combustion engines are categorized. Piston engines are often categorized by their cylinder layout, valves and camshafts. Wankel engines are often categorize ...

was not powerful enough for Brown, who desired a powerful, and high-tech, powerplant for Aston Martin. So Brown purchased Lagonda as well, incorporating Aston Martin Lagonda Ltd. that same year. The first production vehicle to use Bentley's new engine was the 1948 Lagonda 2.6-Litre. This was a large car for the place and time, available as either a 4-door saloon or 2-door

convertible A convertible or cabriolet () is a passenger car that can be driven with or without a roof in place. The methods of retracting and storing the roof vary among eras and manufacturers. A convertible car's design allows an open-air driving expe ...

, and it could only reach 84 mph (135 km/h). Sales were slow, but Aston's 4-cylinder 2-Litre Sports model was barely selling at all. Brown decided to share the straight-6 with Aston, creating the wildly successful DB2 model. This car placed first and second in class at the

24 Hours of Le Mans The 24 Hours of Le Mans (french: link=no, 24 Heures du Mans) is an endurance-focused Sports car racing, sports car race held annually near the town of Le Mans, France. It is the world's oldest active Endurance racing (motorsport), endurance r ...

on its introduction in 1950, propelling Aston Martin into the top tier of post-war sports car companies. The 2.6 L straight-6 went on to power the DB3 racing car and DB2/4 road car, before being enlarged to 2.9 L (2922 cc/178 in³ 83 mm x 90 mm) in 1952 for the DB3, in 1953 for the DB2/4 Mk1 Saloon in September 1953 & April 1954 for the DB2/4 Mk1 DHC. Power eventually reached 195 hp the (145 kW) with triple twin-choke Weber carburettors in the "DBB"-spec DB Mark III after a

Tadek Marek Tadeusz "Tadek" Marek (1908–1982) was a Polish automobile engineer, known for his Aston Martin engines. Marek was from Kraków and studied engineering at Technische Universität Berlin before working for Fiat in Poland and also for General Mo ...

substantial redesign, but the engine by then was showing its age. It was replaced for the DB4 and later cars by a 3.7 L straight-6 designed by Tadek Marek.

Applications

* 2.6 L (2580 cc/157 in³) ** 1948–1953 Lagonda 2.6-Litre ** 1950–1953

Aston Martin DB2 The Aston Martin DB2 is a grand tourer that was sold by Aston Martin from May 1950 until April 1953. The successor to the 2-Litre Sports model, it had a comparatively advanced dual overhead cam 2.6 L Lagonda straight-6 engine in place of ...

** 1950–1952

Aston Martin DB3 :''See Aston Martin DB Mark III for the road car often called "DB3"'' The Aston Martin DB3 and later DB3S were Sports car racing, sports racing cars built in the 1950s. Although they used some Aston Martin DB2, DB2 parts, they were quite differe ...

in 1952 – Mille Miglia, Silverstone, Prix de Bern, Empire Trophy (Isle of Man), Le Mans 14/15.6.52, Jersey 10.07.52, Boreham 02.08.52, Goodwood 9 hrs (2 cars) ** 1953–1954

Aston Martin DB2/4 The Aston Martin DB2/4 is a grand tourer produced by Aston Martin from 1953 until 1957. It was available as a 2+2 hatchback saloon, drophead coupé (DHC) and 2-seat fixed-head coupé. A small number of Bertone bodied spiders were commissioned ...

* 2.9 L (2922 cc/178 in³) ** 1952–1953

used 1st time Monaco 02.06.52 (3 cars) & then Goodwood 9 hrs 16.08.52 (1 car) ** 1953–1956

Aston Martin DB3S The Aston Martin DB3S is a sports racing car that was built by Aston Martin. Following the failure of the heavy and uncompetitive Aston Martin DB3 designed by Eberan Eberhorst; William Watson, employed as Eberhorst's assistant, presented an alter ...

** 1953–1958 Lagonda 3-Litre ** 1954–1955

** 1955–1957 Aston Martin DB2/4 Mark II ** 1957–1959

Aston Martin DB Mark III The DB 2/4 Mark III (normally simply called DB Mark III, even at the time of its introduction) is a grand tourer sold by Aston Martin from 1957 until 1959. It was an evolution of the Aston Martin DB2/4, DB2/4 Mark II model it replaced, using a ...

after Marek redesign

References

William "Willie" Watson http://www.automotivemasterpieces.com/william-willie-watson.html Tadek Marek engine redesign * DB3 History: ''Racing With The David Brown Aston Martin's'' by John Wyer {{DEFAULTSORT:Lagonda Straight-6 Engine Straight-six engines Aston Martin Gasoline engines by model Automobile engines