LaFayette Coupe

1924 LaFayette Model 134 Coupe

Offered by H&H Classics | Duxford, U.K. | March 21, 2018

Photo – H&H Classics

LaFayette has an interesting history. Founded secretly by Charles Nash and staffed with ex-Cadillac designers and engineers, the first LaFayettes hit the market in 1921. It was a full-on luxury car aimed squarely at Cadillac. At first, it was a completely separate endeavor from Nash Motors.

After a slow start, LaFayette was reorganized and moved from Indianapolis to Milwaukee with Nash Motors as the largest shareholder, effectively making it a Nash subsidiary at last in 1923. Later that year Nash introduced the Ajax at the low end of the market and LaFayette became part of that division.

This car is powered by a 5.7-liter V-8 good for 100 horsepower. Seven body styles were offered in 1924, which was the final year for production as Nash sort of gave up on the venture. This four-door coupe (that’s right, LaFayette was almost 100 years ahead of the times) was a four-passenger car. The only two-passenger LaFayette was the Roadster. When new, this car cost a not-insignificant $6,300. Only 2,267 LaFayette motorcars were produced (with just 441 of those being produced in 1924) making this extremely rare. This car, which is selling in England, sports a claimed $200,000 restoration and is expected to bring between $35,000-$48,000. If you want to make a quick buck, buy this for even the upper end of that estimate, ship it to the U.S. and take it to auction at Hershey. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $63,614.

Tell Us What You Think!

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.