Photo: eBay User: shelbob
If you're at all familiar with the Lagonda brand, it's probably for one of two reasons. It's either because of the seven-figure priced, ultra-luxurious Lagonda Taraf, of which there were only 200 made for the whole planet or its ultra-wacky forebearer from the mid-70s through the early 90s, the Aston Martin Lagonda. It's the latter of those two vehicles that we find sitting before us here, abandoned for decades inside a disused airport hangar.
From a certain perspective, it makes sense to find an abandoned 1985 Lagonda in the same place well-to-do millionaires used to store their private aircraft collections. From its earliest days of development, the Aston Martin Lagonda was designed to be the ultra high-end luxury vehicle for the person who wanted something more quirky and interesting than a Jaguar, a Bentley, or a Rolls-Royce of some kind. If achieving this goal alone was enough to constitute success for the brand, the Lagonda succeeded with flying colors.
Of course, this alone does not make a successful luxury car brand. It'd take another 25 years after 1990 before Aston Martin dusted off the Lagonda brand for the Taraf in 2015. But at the very least, catching this long-lost Lagonda here in this hangar an hour south of Portland in Independence, Oregon gives us a chance to admire Aston Martin's efforts to try and be different than literally every other luxury car made around this time.
From the mustache-adjacent front grille to the general square and brick-like silhouette permeating every square inch of this Lagonda's makeup, you can tell the engineers behind this vehicle wanted people's heads to turn wherever the car may roam. After looking at some of the other designs the Lagonda's chief engineer William Towns devised in his career, you'll see that weird boxy shapes were totally his thing. Town also designed the bodywork for the timeless classic late 60s Aston Martin DBS, a vehicle that's anything but boxy.
From the factory red paint on this Lagonda to the original grey leather interior, complete with all the 80s beep boops and digital displays one could possibly hope for still intact, this classic British luxury car is now a permanent resident of the timeless classic club. That's why it's so exceedingly rare to see one pop up not just in the United States but undergoing an online auction that normal folks might be able to afford.
At last count, and with little more than a day left in the auction, the going price for this Lagonda is only $17,400.00, with 44 bids placed so far. Considering these machines can sell in the high 50, 60, and even $70,000 range in perfect condition, that's a real bargain, even if the price bumps up a drop in the next 24 hours.
Of course, this alone does not make a successful luxury car brand. It'd take another 25 years after 1990 before Aston Martin dusted off the Lagonda brand for the Taraf in 2015. But at the very least, catching this long-lost Lagonda here in this hangar an hour south of Portland in Independence, Oregon gives us a chance to admire Aston Martin's efforts to try and be different than literally every other luxury car made around this time.
From the mustache-adjacent front grille to the general square and brick-like silhouette permeating every square inch of this Lagonda's makeup, you can tell the engineers behind this vehicle wanted people's heads to turn wherever the car may roam. After looking at some of the other designs the Lagonda's chief engineer William Towns devised in his career, you'll see that weird boxy shapes were totally his thing. Town also designed the bodywork for the timeless classic late 60s Aston Martin DBS, a vehicle that's anything but boxy.
From the factory red paint on this Lagonda to the original grey leather interior, complete with all the 80s beep boops and digital displays one could possibly hope for still intact, this classic British luxury car is now a permanent resident of the timeless classic club. That's why it's so exceedingly rare to see one pop up not just in the United States but undergoing an online auction that normal folks might be able to afford.
At last count, and with little more than a day left in the auction, the going price for this Lagonda is only $17,400.00, with 44 bids placed so far. Considering these machines can sell in the high 50, 60, and even $70,000 range in perfect condition, that's a real bargain, even if the price bumps up a drop in the next 24 hours.
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