SUV format for Lagonda
Lagonda was once a brand synonymous with absolute refinement — an opulent motor car designed in the same regal vein as Bentleys and Rolls-Royces. Aston Martin purchased the Lagonda brand in 1947. And then designer William Towns ruined it all with the wedge-tastic Aston Martin Lagonda of 1974.
If you aren’t familiar with that car, it was an unmitigated disaster for the manufacturer. Only 645 were produced, but there were probably 643 with electrical gremlins that, in many cases, rendered the large four-door luxury sedans absolutely useless.
Fitted with pop-up headlights, futuristic LED displays and touchpads, the Aston Martin Lagonda was ahead of its time as an ideas car. It also looked utterly unlike anything Aston Martin had released before; think of the swooping, elegant lines of the classic DB5. Okay, now think of the exact opposite of that; there’s your Lagonda.
Still, this chequered history hasn’t stopped Aston Martin from mining its past in the name of electric luxury.
At this year’s Geneva Motor Show, the carmaker unveiled its intention to revive Lagonda as its electrically minded offshoot.
The first Lagonda-badged vehicle will apparently be SUV-sized, and will complement the planned Aston Martin DBX SUV (also likely to be known as the Varekai), as well as being yet another future rival for the Tesla Model X. The latter is due to face competition from the forthcoming Jaguar I-Pace electric SUV before the end of the year, although the Lagonda SUV is unlikely to surface before 2021.
This all sounds interesting. Aston Martin is promising plenty of bleeding-edge tech in the Lagonda line-up (a sedan could follow by 2023), including a 640-ish km range and the promise of true wireless battery charging.
Hmm. Lagonda + Amazing New Technology? We weren’t at all worried until now . . .