Special Motorsports Event - The Ultimate Barn Find in Hertfordshire

Hertfordshire, August 13, 2011: When classic car broker, Philip Jones was asked to visit a family to look at a "couple of Lagondas", he didn't know he was going to uncover one of the most dramatic "barn finds" of his life.

In the yard of a family-owned business in Hertfordshire, there were some trailer containers; one after the other, they revealed an Aladdin's cave of automotive treasure.

The story began with the Grandfather of the current generation who, impressed by his 1923 Lancia Lambda with a Torpedo body, replaced it in the early 1930s with a another Lambda - a Series 8 with a fabric body by Maythorne & Son of Biggleswade. Laid up during World War II, the car was re-commissioned in 1946 and was in daily use until 1956, when it was put into store. It was still there when Philip clambered up the ladder steps into the trailer - with the 1956 tax disc still on the screen.

"I thought I had come to see a couple of Lagondas," Philip said to the owners. It was off up another ladder into another trailer and there was the Lambda's replacement as Grandfather's family car - a 1951 Lagonda 2.6. Sadly, Grandfather passed away in 1965 and his Lagonda found its way into storage in the early 1970s, when the current owners' father made his own choice of car - a 1963 Lagonda Rapide. Yes, it was another trailer and another ladder for Philip!

"In nearly 40 years in the motor trade, I thought I had seen it all," said Philip, "But the three cars, which could only be described as barn finds, mark a family's motoring over three generations. It's fantastic!"

At Philip's request, the family retrieved all three cars from their trailers. Temporary fuel lines were set up, oil levels checked, tyres pumped and fingers crossed, before fuel pumps were primed and engines turned. All three ran and now represent three wonderful restoration opportunities for enthusiasts.