Friday 25th July 2014

Aston confirms Lagonda saloon...

...but it'll be invitation only and limited to customers in the Middle East

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Last week, in a story about the future of Aston Martin, PH confidently declared "our money is now firmly on the rumoured Lagonda four-door" when confirming the controversial Lagonda SUV project had been abandoned. We don't like to be smug, but...

This morning Aston has announced it is to build a "strictly limited" Lagonda "luxury super saloon" that "champions exclusivity". And it's not, as you might first imagine, simply a restyled version of the latest Mercedes-Benz S-Class, but a completely bespoke product based on Aston's own long-standing bonded aluminium VH architecture.

Car based on Aston's vertical/horizontal underpinnings

We strongly suspect that this means it will be not just expensive, but genuinely gob-smackingly so. Adding fuel to that fire, Aston says "The new super saloon will be offered for sale by invitation only and, while precise pricing details remain confidential, the asking price will be commensurate with the car's exclusivity, quality and luxurious nature."

It will also only be available to customers in the Middle East "as a result of specific market demand". Which gives you a further clue.

The pictures you see here are all we've got at this stage, while the technical details are limited to the confirmed use of the VH architecture and carbonfibre body panels. The design is said to be directly influenced by the 1976-1989 William Towns Lagonda - which suggests plenty of straight lines and a huge amount of on-board technology. It will be hand-built at Aston Martin's factory in Gaydon.

Aston Martin's design director, Marek Reichman - who turns out to have been dropping some pretty heavy hints last week - describes the new Lagonda as "an exceptional piece of automotive art" and "the ultimate in luxury and personalisation". But then, he would do, wouldn't he?

Production of the new Aston Martin Lagonda saloon is set to start in early 2015.

 

[matbat]

I'm sure it will look stunning, shame we'll never see one on the road in the UK.

[FlukePlay]

I am sure it will be stunning and we hope the electrics work properly this time round.

[greygoose]

A car solely for the Middle East may not be that tasteful to western eyes.

[BritishRacinGrin]

Formerly British car maker so exclusive that no Brits can buy one. Thanks Aston Martin.

[robemcdonald]

Looks interesting.
Likely to be the most expensive car on a decade old platform.
Probably all already sold though.

[Uncle John]

Yep a bit rich (Pardon the pun) that we in Blighty can't have one.....

[Prawnboy]

shame about the utter excusivity angle, should just replace the rapide, (which was a very lazy non-design), i do hope they go all straight lined. i love the lagonda.

[CharlieCrocodile]

matbat said:

I'm sure it will look stunning, shame we'll never see one on the road in the UK.

I'm sure it will make an appearance in the Harrods GP next year.

[Lyons]

Not that it matters, but isn't it a re-skinned Rapide? The market positioning is interesting - hope it works out for them.

Like the idea or bringing back 80s AML products. Would love to see a new Bulldog, with the V12 from the One-77

[gck303]

BritishRacinGrin said:

Formerly British car maker so exclusive that no Brits can buy one. Thanks Aston Martin.

What a strange world.

All those skills and effort spend engineering. Used to make too hideous, too expensive cars for a group of rich oil sheiks.

And then maybe, similar to the chap in Brunei, will then never use then and leave them to rot. I am thinking here of all the one off Italian and British supercars that were bought, and never ever used.

[kambites]

Lyons said:

Not that it matters, but isn't it a re-skinned Rapide?

I very much doubt it, the Rapide's rear seats are tiny which makes it a rather poor excuse for a luxury saloon.

[MogulBoy]

Looks epic. Spotters shouldn't worry, you will see almost all of the entire production run in the posher post codes of London, sporting licence plates from the Gulf states.

[RichB]

BritishRacinGrin said:

Formerly British car maker so exclusive that no Brits can buy one. Thanks Aston Martin.

Looks excellent, hope they sell each and every one of them. The Sheik's money will fund Aston Martin to design and build replacements for the DB9 and Vantage. All good... Well done Aston Martin.

[g3org3y]

Aston Martin. Formally the epitome of class and good taste now creating a car specifically for the most OTT/nouveau riche market out there (perhaps second only to footballers).

I'm sure they'll sort out their game once Mercedes buys them properly (in the same way Bentley and Rolls Royce have been by VW and BMW respectively).

RichB said:

Looks excellent, hope they sell each and every one of them. The Sheik's money will fund Aston Martin to design and build replacements for the DB9 and Vantage. All good... Well done Aston Martin.

Isn't that what was said of the Cygnet (or was that for spurious 'environmental' reasons)?

Edited by g3org3y on Friday 25th July 10:32

[DonkeyApple]

That's a bold move as the market shows you can sell SUVs by the bucket load and these top saloons by the handful.

The main thing is that it is great to see the Lagonda brand coming back and I'm sure it will be a stunning beast that rivals the Wraith for Phantom money and if Rolls is going to have a rival then the fact it will be British is wonderful.

If any brand is going to succeed where Merc failed with Maybach then it has to be Lagonda? Just for starters the word is elegant whereas Maybach sounded like a tramp wretching up that morning's White Lightening. Plus, it looked like an S Class for the types of people who made their money through genocide and Western aid embezzlement.

Edited by DonkeyApple on Friday 25th July 10:32

[thatguy11]

It had better be super-exclusive then, and so ostentatious no Brit would want one. We're talking stretched One-77 here, nothing lower!

[monthefish]

kambites said:

Lyons said:

Not that it matters, but isn't it a re-skinned Rapide?

I very much doubt it, the Rapide's rear seats are tiny which makes it a rather poor excuse for a luxury saloon.

So perhaps they'll stretch the wheelbase.

But it'll still be a sporty(-ish) 4-door, V12 (presumably) Aston based on the "long-standing bonded aluminium VH architecture", so I think the Rapide comments/correlation is valid.

It physically can't be that different, nor do they have the budget for it.



Moreover,

Lyons said:

hope it works out for them.

I really hope Aston succeed, and I believe with the current brand cache, it would only take a moderately talented business leader to make it so.

[cuda]

BritishRacinGrin said:

Formerly British car maker so exclusive that no Brits can buy one. Thanks Aston Martin.

+1. Shameful.

[RichB]

g3org3y said:

Aston Martin. Formally the epitome of class and good taste now creating a car specifically for the most OTT/nouveau riche market out there (perhaps second only to footballers).

Aston Martin revived the Lagonda mark with various models in exactly the same way in the 60s & 70s, right through to the 90s so I don't know why you anyone sees this as anything other than a continuation of that. Use of the word formerly is out of context.

[Regiment]

I'm surprised it's not gone further east and being sold in China. Rich Chinese people love 2 things, British elegance and long stretchy things.