Photo: Aston Martin
Lagonda always had a convoluted history to it. And though we normally associate it with Aston Martin, Lagonda is the older marque of the two. But in comparison to the coolest British carmaker of them all, Lagonda had more ups and downs than a yo-yo. Its history is that labyrinthine.
David Brown, however, acquired it on Aston Martin’s behalf in 1947, a move that saw the British manufacturer borrow technical bits and bobs that include an effervescent 2.6-liter twin overhead cam straight-six mill. Lagonda’s biggest downfall was the sedan of the same name, a model built from 1976 to 1989 in very limited numbers because of two reasons.
First and foremost, it was wildly expensive even for the most aristocratic of aristocrats. Secondly, it was a mess of a car, and I’m not taking a jab at its styling. It’s the electric and electronics that let the Lagonda down, coupled with a rather poor reliability record. Aston, however, is ready to leave the past behind and bring the marque back to its primordial glory.
Speaking to Motoring about establishing Lagonda as a standalone brand for ultra-luxury vehicles, Dr. Andy Palmer dropped a bit of a bombshell: “Historically, Lagonda competed with the likes of Rolls and Bentley. [But] it has been largely dormant or has often been used as a sub-brand… or a pet name of Aston, so lots of confusion.” Now guess what the big kahuna of Aston Martin is thinking about in terms of making Lagonda great again.
“We’re going to get rid of the confusion… The direction I gave to Marek [Reichman, the design chief] was look, Rolls Royce, is the epitome of luxury. It’s first class in a 777 – big, comfortable, we can’t compete with them. Give me Concorde – the best of speed; the finest of fastest cars.”
That’s an enticing proposition considering that the Rapide AMR is the world’s fastest four-door sedan, with its powertrain tuned to break on to the 210 mph (338 km/h) mark. Other than a full-size sedan, which will effectively replace the somewhat odd-looking Taraf, the newly-reborn Lagonda is also planning on delivering some sort of crossover SUV.
The latter is expected to be a slightly different breed from the Aston Martin DBX-inspired crossover, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. Lamborghini Urus what now? Or should I say, Rolls-Royce Cullinan?
First and foremost, it was wildly expensive even for the most aristocratic of aristocrats. Secondly, it was a mess of a car, and I’m not taking a jab at its styling. It’s the electric and electronics that let the Lagonda down, coupled with a rather poor reliability record. Aston, however, is ready to leave the past behind and bring the marque back to its primordial glory.
Speaking to Motoring about establishing Lagonda as a standalone brand for ultra-luxury vehicles, Dr. Andy Palmer dropped a bit of a bombshell: “Historically, Lagonda competed with the likes of Rolls and Bentley. [But] it has been largely dormant or has often been used as a sub-brand… or a pet name of Aston, so lots of confusion.” Now guess what the big kahuna of Aston Martin is thinking about in terms of making Lagonda great again.
“We’re going to get rid of the confusion… The direction I gave to Marek [Reichman, the design chief] was look, Rolls Royce, is the epitome of luxury. It’s first class in a 777 – big, comfortable, we can’t compete with them. Give me Concorde – the best of speed; the finest of fastest cars.”
That’s an enticing proposition considering that the Rapide AMR is the world’s fastest four-door sedan, with its powertrain tuned to break on to the 210 mph (338 km/h) mark. Other than a full-size sedan, which will effectively replace the somewhat odd-looking Taraf, the newly-reborn Lagonda is also planning on delivering some sort of crossover SUV.
The latter is expected to be a slightly different breed from the Aston Martin DBX-inspired crossover, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. Lamborghini Urus what now? Or should I say, Rolls-Royce Cullinan?
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